Young Justice: The Superhero Conspiracy
by Knight of Black and Gold
Summary: Heroes are supposed do the right thing, no questions asked. So why does the appearance of the Arkham Knight ask so many? What is his connection to the Justice League? What happened to Grant Wilson? Why is the mysterious organization HIVE working with Scarecrow and Deathstroke? What is the Oracle? At the center of all these mysteries: What really happened to Jason Todd?
1. The Hunt

**This is a rewrite of my fanfiction Young Justice: Sin and Punishment. There are some continuity changes in this from my old version. Please comment!**

* * *

One Year After the Reach Invasion

 **WATCHTOWER**

 _Batgirl POV_

Alpha squad has (almost) assembled: Robin, Miss Martian, Tigress, and Lagoon Boy are all looking at me on the Watchtower. Though we are still waiting for Superboy to start the debrief.

"Where's Conner?" M'gann asked. Robin looked at me before observing a visually upset Lagoon Boy at mention of his ex-girlfriend's ex-boyfriend's name. Maybe we should institute a no dating within the team. Then again I'd have to fire most of the team.

Conner and M'gann weren't dating again, but they weren't exactly able to hide the feelings that stilled linger between each other. Though Superboy is too tough to admit it, he tends to make a stronger case that he doesn't care about her when he isn't in the same room as her, both of them have sparks fly when they are together.

"He said that he was going to go on a date earlier today, so maybe he is still on that date," Robin said somewhat tone-death with the ex in the room. Robin needs better social cues. I hope when Cassie breaks up with him (given Bruce and Dick's record this is the most likely outcome) it will only be less akward when Dick, Zatanna, Rocket, Myself, or... I'd rather not think about the whole list!

Tigress and I both look at Miss Martian. Tigress didn't tell me about Superboy dating anyone, and she would tell me if she knew. Did M'gann know about this? She did not take the initial break up well. As in I-will-rip-the-limbs-off-the-first-thing-I-get-the-chance-to not well. Luckily she only ran into a robot.

"Oh," Miss Martian says. She seems to have no facial reaction. Can she just shape-shift away any facial emotions? Is she just going through a round of violent internal thought about how she would torture Dick- CONNER because of the way that he treats her feelings as though he can just discard them away and thrust into a new life ignoring all other damage to the world around him particularly me- HER.

There is a long silence in the room. Tigress, Lagoon Boy, and I are all staring at Miss Martian's nonreactive face while Miss Martian and Robin look at each other. Lagoon Boy smiled, probably thinking he can get back together with M'gann if she no longer has interest in Conner.

I don't believe for a second that she's over him.

 **"Recognized. Superboy B04."**

The rest of us all look at the Zeta-Tube and see Superboy run out of it.

"Sorry I'm late!" he yelled at us. His shirt was on backwards, hadn't done his hair, wasn't wearing any shoes, and his pajamas had fallen to ankle level. The facts that his pants fell off probably distracted everyone from the lipstick smeared across his cheek and neck. It's clear he just got out of bed but something else tells me that he was in bed with someone else.

"Ha ha," Lagoon Boy is snickering in the corner at the half dressed super kid.

"What?" he asks all of us clearly unaware of his situation.

"Ok, I'm starting the meeting now!" I declare gathering everyone's attention. Superboy attempts to walk off to get a belt but since I am not interested in giving this speech twice I simply glance at him and he freezes in place, unable to muster the will to possible disobey me. So glad Bruce taught me how to do that. I continue speaking. "Last night an attack on Belle Reve killed 100 prisoners and 10 faculty workers." I pull up images from the inside of Belle Reve including the bodies of Black Spider and Trickster.

"Sportsmaster?" Tigress asked in concern.

"That's where this story gets complicated." I pull up two different photos of Sportsmaster. One of him jumping out of the back of a truck, another of his body being pulled out of rubble. "The one on the left was taken by Belle Reve security footage shortly after the first bombs went off. The one on the right is taken from rescue efforts to find people killed in the bombings. It's unknown why Sportsmaster would reveal his escape attempt and place a fake body in Belle Reve. But it appears that his escape was the primary purpose of this attack."

"Are we sure that's the real Sportsmaster in the truck?" Robin asks.

"Yes. Belle Reve and their parent organization ARGUS ran a DNA test proving that the body found wasn't Sportsmaster. They are currently looking through the DNA logs to find out who it is but that's irrelevant for our mission." I pull up the video of Sportsmaster jumping out of the truck and being pulled back in. "As you can see from the video he has unknown, the telekinetic type of help."

"Any of Da-" Tigress paused for a second "-Sportsmaster's known associates have telekinetic abilities?"

"None that can't be accounted for amongst the deceased or other Belle Reve prisoners. It's probable that we are looking at a new person."

"So the Light's got a new agent?" Lagoon Boy asked. "Got any idea what this chum looks like."

"No but we think he's in New Orleans." I pull up the image of the truck exiting to New Orleanes.

"You assembled all of us here for a tracking mission?" Miss Martian asked. "Doesn't that seem like overkill to track down one guy? Even if it is Sportsmaster."

"You don't plan a prison break alone, let alone one that kills over a hundred people."

"How did he pull off this prison break?" Superboy asked.

"The exact details are still unclear but dozens of bullets were recovered. The bullets had an origin of 10 different firearms."

"Meaning that a squad had infiltrated Belle Reve to cause chaos as Sportsmaster escaped," Robin deduced.

"And since these squad members have not been accounted for or have been identified we have to assume that they have meta-human abilities." I shut down the computer. "All of you except Superboy go to the Bio-Ship."

Everybody around him just looked at Superboy as they walked away. Robin gave a "You are doomed look" to Superboy. Tigress gave a "Your own fault look." Lagoon Boy gave a "I'm better than you look." That was all predictable but for some reason M'gann just walked past him. Was she really over him?

Once the others had left the room Superboy attempted to excuse himself.

"Listen I'm sorry for showing up late," he quickly said. "But there was-"

"I'm not mad you showed up late," I tell him.

"You're not?" he asked in confusion.

"No. I'm mad that you came here and stuffed your sex life in our face." He was instantly taken back by my accusation of what he was doing.

"I-I-I-I-I was-I could-I hadn't-I wasn't-I can-" this went on for a while.

"You just walked in here with a look of how little clothes you were wearing recently-" his face was not like a red sun. "-with lipstick marking where this girls mouth was and expect us not to notice." He looked like he was about to faint in embarrassment.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"[Sigh] Just wash your face and put on some more clothes. I don't want you or your ex thinking that you are trying to show off how much better the other is without them." Superboy starts taking off his shirt. When he has taken it off I can see a trail of lip stick starting from abs going down to a place I don't want to think about. "Shower," I commanded of him, awkwardly looking away.

"What?" he asks in confusion.

"SHOWER!"

* * *

 **LOCATION UNKOWN**

 _Sportsmaster POV_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," I screamed in agony as it felt like my mind was going through a mixer. I start to remember things much more vividly than any other memory.

"Tell me what you know," the goth chic said. "Show me what you remember."

This chic has been using some magic to mind #^$! me for hours. I didn't expect to exchange one cell for another today. When I got that letter I was expecting to be able to get a beer right now. But instead I just ended up extending one torture for another.

* * *

Last Night

 **BELLE REVE**

 _Sportsmaster's Flashback POV_

"Everyone back to their cells," the guard said.

"Well next time let's get reacquainted, I could use a man of your talents here," Oswald said as he walked away with his personal guard. "The crazies added since Arkham Asylum blew up have made the place even more of a timber box... at least we don't have to worry about the clown," even the mention of that creeps name drew shivers down Cobblepot's spine. Hard to blame him. "Us sane ones have to stick together." As he walked away Blockbuster followed like a dog on a leash. Sure Blockbuster seemed tough, but the way he was being hackled showed off his submission to Cobblepot. If Blockbuster had a sense of pride he would probably never be some servant to this hunchback. But no, he continued to walk, and if he could kiss Cobblepot's feet at that second he would. Sportsmaster saw this and came up with his answer.

No way. I may be forced to eat $#%! food, in $#%! smelling cell, with $#%! mate. But no way Sportsmaster is going to be reduced to some lapdog. Unlike Blockbuster, I have a name and pride.

As I walked away one of the guards ran up to me and slammed me against the wall.

"Hey you son of a..." I said before I saw what the guard pulled out. A military grade knife. This punk is trying to frame me. For what? A promotion?

"Why do you think you have this knife punk" the guard said as he slipped a note into my pocket. Now this intrigued him. This guard was trying to send me a message by detaining me. Why?

Ra's probably has something to do with this. When I worked with the League of Shadows I had gotten used to the idea of Ra's having eyes everywhere even if I didn't know where these eyes were. "Hey Bill we have to put one in the ISO now."

I paused. I really did not want to have to go through ISO, but the note in my back pocket presented me with a rare opportunity. It has been 8 months since I was captured by Flash and put in Belle Reve. It only took me one month to decide to pounce at the first opportunity no matter the risk, even ISO. Now that opportunity presented itself to me. I would be able to reestablish my reputation as one of the only prisoners ever to escape Belle Reve. I would be able to charge triple the amount as the legend who escaped The Wall.

As I was being dragged to the ISO cell, the guard did not say anything else, but he did give him a "be silent" look.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," came out of one of the cells. ISO was a brainwashing technique used to make violent inmates... manageable. Anybody (well except the Joker) who came out of those cells would be mindless zombie for weeks. As I was thrown into a space that would make a closet look big, the guard finally broke his silence. "Pretend to scream."

Some lights started to flash but they did not hurt, so I followed along. "AHHHHHHHHHHH," I screamed in fake pain. I took out the note and started to read it.

 _Dear Mr. Crock,_

 _I know that you are a man of high connections and high skills. I need a man for my future plans. To my understanding you currently have the ability to crush my enemies and carryout my will. When you exit this cell you will be taken to the medical wing, be sure to take this paper with you and burn it outside the prison (the last person who I broke out left a trail that had me cut my losses, literally cut him with a salami slicer). When you are in the medical wing we will replace your body with that of Hook. Then you will have to hide in laundry cart before being transferred to a food cart, then shifted out of the prison. Then my truck driver will take you to meet me. All these people in between the steps work for me so if you try to flee to The Light they will check your impulses Mr. Crock._

 _Sincerely,_

 _The Grand Director_

Well not only do I get a chance to escape this $#%!hole but I get to see Hook offed to. I was still very angry at Hook because of a rivalry we have going back to my time with the League of Shadows. But what confused me was the statement about The Light.

I hadn't worked for those bastards since they killed Artemis without my permission (sure that was faked but they didn't know that). But the past can be buried with a golden shovel and cash instead of dirt. And Luthor has the cash to buy that golden shovel. So these guys think I'm still working for those punks.

The lights stopped flashing. Since the ISO session was supposed to be over I pretended to look like a zombie.

The guard from earlier opened the cell, "Okay idiot. Let's take you back." I complied like an ISO zombie would. The guard took me down the hall to the medical wing rather than the cell. There I was placed in a bed. A nurse and a team of doctors came in to seemingly check on me, but in reality they replaced me with a body that seemed exactly like mine.

Damn they did some plastic surgery on Hook. A laundry cart appeared and stopped at the door of the hallway.

"Go," the nurse said.

I ran into the cart and jumped in. The cart pusher then moves me for about 10 minutes before I was told to jump into an adjacent cart containing trash. After jumping in the cart and being covered in food, I had to put up with the smell for about thirty minuet.

Finally, I could tell the end of the escape had come when I heard a door open and could smell the swamp outside. I was then loaded into a truck. The truck started to move. I did not want to exit the trash until being told to do so. League of Shadows training to never do anything unnecessary.

"[BBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM]"

What was that explosion?!

"[BANG] [BANG] [BANG] [BANG] [BANG] [BANG] [BANG] [BANG] [BANG]"

Are they firing at us!

This caused me to panic and jump out of the cart. I then attempted to jump out of the truck. Opening the truck door to jump out onto the road. But before I could hit the ground, I was stopped in mid air, just floating above the road. I was then pulled back into the truck and hit the back wall before the doors shut.

"Calm down you idiot," I heard some woman's voice behind me. "You probably just revealed that you didn't die in that explosion. And all the plastic surgery we did went to waste."

"You know Grand Director that it would have been a good idea to tell me that you were going to blow $#!% up," I tell her as I held up against the wall by some telekinetic force.

"Oh I'm sorry. I should have assumed you were an idiot," she tells me with sass. "Also I'm not The Supreme Commander. My father is. And you will not want to see him when he is angry."

"I'm not going to be the target of his anger," I say in a mocking voice.

"What?"

"No, you see I know what is like to have a daughter fail her father. And it is so dissapoin-" She responded to that by adding force to my neck. "She... She... also... over... reacts-" I started to lose consciousness after that.

* * *

Present

 **LOCATION UNKOWN**

 _Sportsmaster POV_

"What-What did you just-" I attempted to yell at her.

"NOOOO," she yelled at me before punching my face and grabbing my neck. "Show me what I want to know not what you-"

"Oh please daughter," I hear a voice emerge from a corner that I hadn't looked at earlier. "You are never going to do it by using something real, you have to have your own imagination."

"What are you talking about old man?" she yells at the man behind me.

"First you got to get to know your target better," the man, who I assumed is her father. He emerges from the shadows. He appears to be in his thirties to forties, above average height, not armed, and wearing a suit. "Now is there anything you wish to tell me Lawrence."

"[Spit]" I spit on his suit. "Screw you!" He wipes the spit off his cheek.

"Well Lawrence. Since you won't be a gentleman, I'll start with the introductions. My name is Damien. Damien Darhk and this is my HIVE's Forward Operation Base in New Orleans."

It takes a while to process his name. Ra's once mentioned it, so did Jade.

"Ha..." I start to smile at what my captors imply. "HA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." I begin to laugh uncontrollable. "Alight HAHAHA. Ra's you can't seriously expect me to believe this." I yell into the ceiling, expecting there to be cameras there. "What you think I don't know about what happened to your old apprentice? The events of World War One. The HIVE. How stupid do you think I am?" 'Damien,' in amusement, and his daughter, in confusion, looked at each other in denial.

"He's in denial," 'Damien Darhk' told me. A black mist then appeared in his hand. "Let's see if he can deny this!" Then my mind went black.

* * *

 **BIO-SHIP, OVER NEW ORLEANS**

 _Batgirl POV_

As we flew over the city everyone was quiet. Not wanting to talk about the touchy subject of Artemis father, everybody kept an awkward silence and looked out a window. There was an unspoken rule amongst the team: do not bring up a team member's parental relations unless they say or do something for attention. It was formed after Dick was fired as Robin by Batman.

I'm not aware of the exact details of what happened after he was fired, but if it's anything like what I saw at Gotham Academy it was probably brutal.

Eventually Robin asked, "So how do we track Sportsmaster? The plan can't be fly around and hope we can spot him from above."

And Robin just broke that rule. I instinctively look to Tigress out of friendly concern. Then Miss Martian is also looking at her. And Lagoon Boy. And Superboy. Robin looks at the rest of us and follows out eyes to look at Tigress. Now all of us are looking to Tigress, but she doesn't seem to notice. She just stares outside the window of the Bio-Ship. This goes on for a while. Eventually I want to look away, but the aura of the room keeps all of our eye focused on her despite being oblivious to our focus.

After a long staring Artemis looks around and sees us all staring at her. "Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Da- Sportsmaster tends to keep his groups small. 5 or less people. And he wouldn't us them for one mission, he keeps them around for a month before a major operation to check if any of them are working against him."

"So he as probably close with the driver of the truck," Robin noted.

"Most likely living in the same place as his assistiants for the months before hand."

"So we find Sportsmasters assistiants we find him."

"Great. Now how do we track the driver, he's not on the video." Lagoon Boy mocks.

"No but I can track the truck."

"How?" I ask.

"The Brother AI system."

"You mean the new government surveillance software?" Superboy asked. "I thought it was made to track people not cars?"

"You think the the US Government spent $50 billion dollars in tax money that the public doesn't know about for a technique made by the IPhone? No. The system designed by Wayne Tech is a next generation in data accumulation. Capable of processing weather, cars, clothing, and possible even magic. It uses a new algorithm that processes on a scale that makes the-"

"You lost me at government spending?" Lagoon Boy mocks. Robin pouts.

"I can track their cars," Robin says in a passive aggressive voice. "And I just got the results back." Now everybody focuses on the computer at the front. "A truck matching the one that was seen leaving Belle Reve can be seen at all of these locations." A map of New Orleans appears showing hundred of routes going throughout the city. It seems as though it had been on half the streets of New Orleans.

"Great! We know he is in the city next to the prison he escaped from. Now we just need to check every building in New Orleans," Lagoon Boy continued with his mockery.

"Lagoon Boy's right Robin I don't see how this helps," Superboy, SUPERBOY agreed with Lagoon Boy.

"[Sigh] The map intersects most frequently at this location," Robin pulls up a photo of store with a bunch of trucks that look like the one Sportsmaster escaped in. "This is a truck rental facility."

"So we just need to find who rented the truck," I said. "Good work Robin."

"My works not done yet," he responds. "I can track the car but not the driver. Maybe if we get a description from the owner?"

"I could psychically take an image from him," Miss Martian offered.

"Well I don't think we should appear at a store and ask the clerk for permission to scan their minds," I say.

"I can do it from the ship if I park above the rental lot-"

"Wouldn't there be a camera in the store?" Superboy blurted out. "That should have an image." Superboy then proceeded to get into a death staring contest with his ex.

"I could probably run a city wide search if we have a photo rather than psychic imagery," Robin replied.

"Alright, that seems like a more secure bet," Batgirl said. We they flew closer to the rental station so Robin drop down and check for surveillance camera.

* * *

 **LOCATION UNKOWN**

 _Sportsmaster POV_

"AHHHHHHHHHH" I screamed. "What are you doing to me?!"

"Well Mr. Crock, it appears as though Ra's has blocked some of your memories from you, I am going to retrieve them," Darhk said. "You see our brain divides memories into certain segments. This may get too complicated for you so I will only explain the relevant part. When people hide their traumatic memories and nightmares from themselves they can never access them. I, when I worked for your former employer, made a technique to hide regular memories and facts there. So to access that part of the brain and retrieve those memories, I'll have to create some new trauma for you Mr. Crock."

"AHHHHHHHH," something started flashing before my eyes. Then the pain stopped, and I woke up.

I was in bed. Not just any bed but the one I used to share with Paula. What am I doing here? It was his old apartment but... nicer. Then Paula started to wake up.

"You ok lover," she said.

"Um..." I... I... How do I respond. "I think so."

"Well I thought you would feel better today of all days." Then something happened that stunned him. She started walking. Fucking walking.

"What wrong?" She asked curiously. "You seem like you had a bad dream."

"Uh.. I-" then all of a sudden the room changed. They were in their dining room, with Artemis, Jade, and Lian.

"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY," his girls said.

"Thank-," then an explosion hit the wall and troops started coming in.

"Well, the whole family is here?" I recognized that voice. "I thought I could just torture you, but these girls will make excellent hostages." Savage. VANDAL #^%&ing SAVAGE. "I need one alive, feel free to do what you want with the rest."

"No you won't you son of a bitch," Sportsmaster said. Sportsmaster charged at him, but he was easily taken down.

"Why yo-," Paula tried to say.

"[BLANG]" A gun went off and her body went down.

"PAULA!" Sportsmaster yelled at her body. I saw Savage's men load Artemis and Jade onto a helicopter. Then everything started to blur, images of Savage were conflated with those of Darhk, then I hear Darhk speak

"Ha HAHAHA. You still care about your wife and daughters! After everything you did to them, why do you think they would care about you at all. Now. Where is he going?" Darhk asked.

* * *

 **MYSTERIOIUS WAREHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS**

 _Superboy POV_

"You sure this is the place?" Batgirl asked.

"That's what The Brother tracked," Robin responded.

"How was that computer able to track the person who rented a truck here?" I ask.

"When I asked the guy who ran the truck rental station about the truck he said the driver had returned it to the parking lot in while there was nobody at the station. But somebody came in this morning and paid $5000 in cash to fix the doors in the back of the truck." An image of a man in a red hood and a leather jacket appeared on the Bio-Ship computer. "This guy was tracked by The Brother by taking the time and location of this individual and comparing it to every CCTV in New Orleans. Then using a predictive search algorithm checks every location he can be at depending on approximate walking speed." A map then appeared on the Bio-Ship computer. "This is the route he took from the truck rental station to here."

"Well let us see if those fancy Wayne Industry R&D pays off," Batgirl said.

The facility seemed just like every other warehouse they had raided. A normal, in poor condition, storage facility. When they break down that wall though, they will see an advanced science lab, or a bunch of guns at a arms sale, or an alien invasion platform, or... that time they caught Nightwing and Tarantula in the act. Zatanna spent the next few months treating him as though he did not exist.

"Prepare to drop," Batgirl commanded. Robin, Tigress, and Batgirl attached their ropes and dropped. Lagoon Boy and I jumped. Then Miss Martian floated over the facility. Batgirl then gave psychic instructions. " _First stage of infiltration will be Miss Martian and I sneaking in, till then await further instructions_ "

" _Neptune's Beard, why do you hog all the fun,_ " Lagoon Boy thought.

" _Because I have stealth training by the guy right behind you_." Lagoon Boy then proceeds to look behind himself absolutely believing for Batman to be there.

" _I can't believe you actually fell for that_ ," I thought. Though to be fair I never figured out how any of them were able to sneak up on me like that. Robin and Tigress also chuckled at Lagoon Boy's panic.

" _Facility Infiltrated,_ " Miss Martian thought.

" _Guys we are looking at an abandonment of this facility, but there are some serious high tech here. Incubation pods, guns, grenade, I even see some helicopters_ ," Batgirl thought.

" _Guys I've b- AHHHHHHH_."

" _MEGAN_ ," Lagoon Boy and I thought.

" _Full on assault NOW_ ," Batgirl declared. After the declaration I charge and Lagoon Boy transformed and stormed the facility. We tore down one of the walls on the side. We entered seeing an extremely pale person surrounded by metal that seemed imbedded into his body. He had green eyes and a face mask on. He held himself as if he had no control over his arms. This guy was going to pay for hurting Megann. I then charge at him, causing his facemask retracted and a red light appeared in his mouth. Then a plasma bolt appeared, blasting me into the next building. " _Superboy!"_ I couldn't give a response. " _SUPERBOY!_ "

"*Cough* *Cough* That *Cough* *Cough* hurt" Superboy said. " _I'm alright._ "

" _Whatever this guy is he is seriously dangerous, Robin call backup now_ "

* * *

 **LOCATION UNKOWN**

 _Mysterious POV_

"Where is he going?" Darhk asked. I watched on my wrist computer as my armors plates attached to me.

"Savage. HE... HE's GOING TO DERIBA CALDERA," Sportsmaster said. Great, now he and Damien Darhk both know where Vandal Savage is. Now the question is which of them gets to him first.

"Sudan? Well we should prepare a strike team. I'll lead it," Darhk said. He then started to leave the room. "Leave him, it's better to have him caught by the Jr. Justice League. I've locked all memories of our encounters. Let's leave them chasing this end long enough for us to cover any other trails that could lead to the discovery of HIVE." Then he left.

"[BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM]"

"Oracle what was that?" I ask into my communicator, turning off to the video from the camera in HIVE's interrogation room.

"Checking the other cameras in the area," she responds. "It appears as though we have a super-human in the facility fighting... Miss Martian? Robin? Superboy? The Creature from the Black Lagoon? Batgirl and Huntress?"

"Lagoon Boy and Tigress rather than The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Huntress," I correct her.

"But why are they in the facility," Oracle asked. "It took me a month to find this place."

"I led the here."

"What! Why?"

"Because I need a distraction to extract Sportsmaster."

"How did you lead them here?"

"I had you switch the truck in the Belle Reve footage with the one that was placed into the Horizon Rentals. Then I traced a path from rentals to here."

"That's why you had me do that! I thought you said not contact with any heroes."

"I didn't need to make contact to leave a trail."

"You had The Brother-"

"Oracle what's going on with the fight above ground."

"Ummmm... It would appear the meta-human is currently banging Lagoon Boy's head against a wall."

"They've got a good team and will be fine," I check the camera in the interrogation room. "Sportsmaster's gone! I've got to go after him."

"What about Darhk?" she asked. "He's escaping!"

"I didn't come here to fight the Darhk's," I tell her.

"Then when are you going to end this!" she said in rage.

"I'm going to fight Sportsmaster. I'm also sending you instructions on how to modify the video footage from the interrogation room. Arkham Knight out."

* * *

 **FRONT ENTERENCE OF THE HIVE FOB**

 _Robin (Tim Drake) POV_

The cyborg was ultra powerful. Superboy was in serious pain after a single hit from that laser. " _Everybody aim for the back of the head of the robot, that where the connecting cables appear to be._ " Batgirl thought to the team. I run over to Tigress to take cover behind a console.

"You ever seen something like this," I asked her.

"There was AMAZO, but he was significantly less human," Tigress remarked.

"Why are so many robots guys?"

"Honestly you would think these old men who make robots would make women for comfort." I blushed a bit at that statement. We both jump out of the way when Lagoon Boy came flying through the console. The cyborg jumped at us, looked to Tigress and started loading the laser it shot at Superboy.

"NO!" I yelled. Then Superboy came from the side and punched the robot through the wall.

"Time for some payback," he said charging at Robot

" _Everybody all right_ " Miss Martian said.

" _M'GANN!_ " Superboy and Lagoon Boy thought simultaneously. The robot then had some boxes thrown at it.

" _Superboy, Lagoon Boy, and Miss Martian, take the robot head on while we try to hit from the back,_ " Batgirl commanded.

" _Rodger,_ " everybody conformed.

Superboy charged at the cyborg. The cyborg then hit him back against at wall and started charging its laser. Then Miss Martian threw some boxes at him, then he looked towards her. Tigress took her chance, jumping at the cyborg. But then it did something unexpected, it back jumped to avoid her sword. That move requires ninja skill. " _Batgirl this thing is a ninja!_ " I thought.

" _Well that just what we needed from a robot. A ninja upgrade,_ " Batgirl thought.

Lagoon boy charged at it and held onto one side. " _Hold him down,_ " Lagoon Boy thought. Superboy got the idea and held his other side. It seemed as though the robot was going to break through before it was hit with more force bringing it to its knees.

" _GO!_ " Miss Martian said. I saw an opening and charged towards the robots back and firing a taser just as it broke free of Superboy and Lagoon Boy tossing them both in opposite directions. It hit the back of its neck and activated. The robot reacted in what appeared to be pain, not doing much, before just falling over.

"Nice job Robin", Tigress said. "Now let's-" then a sound appeared.

"[BEEP]" a red light also showed up.

"[BEEP]" Batgirl and I realized what it was.

"EVERYBODY GET AWAY FROM THAT THING," Batgirl yelled. Everybody started to panic and fled from window, door, or hole in the warehouse.

"[BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEEEEEEEEEEE-]"

* * *

 **HIVE FACILITY HANGER**

 _Arkham Knight POV_

"[ **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM** ]"

"Oracle, what was that explosion," I contacted her.

"I don't know, but looking from The Brother it started in the entrance to the Frontal Operator Base," she responded

"Forward Operating Base," I corrected. If the explosion took place there it must mean one thing. "Oracle it was a suicide attack."

"Who-"

"The HIVE meta-human the Justice League's team was fighting."

"Why wou-."

"HIVE programs all their agents with a suicide command in the event of-" I notice a figure at the end of the hallway. "-capture." The figure at the end fired a RPG at me. I pull out my gun and shoot at the rocket.

"[BOOOOOOOOOOOM]" The explosion of the rocket sent me back a few feet.

"Arkham-" Oracle attempted to contact me but I couldn't hear the whole thing. When I looked up I saw a figure in the distance.

The figure came charging at me. "Prepare to go down Batman," the person said.

Eventually I'm able to make out the figure. Sportsmaster!

As Sportsmaster charged at me up my gun into dual pistols and fired at him. Sportsmaster jumped off the wall to dodge his bullets. When Sportsmaster lunges at me with a crowbar. I dropped one of my guns into a holster as Sportsmaster grabbed a crowbar. Sportsmaster grabbed my arm holding my gun. "Batman using a gun? What happened when I was in there?"

"I'm not Batman," I declare. I set my gun to flame thrower.

"Pointy ears, Bat-logo, and fancy gadgets... sure your no-" then I started using the flame thrower which panicked Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster then jumped behind a crate. "What's your story kid? JL? Light? This 'HIVE' thing?"

"Formerly JL, but now I'm my own, and soon the whole world will be with me."

"A new world order, good luc-" Sportsmaster saw a grenade and tried to jump away. After jumping he was pulled towards the grenade, then all the force had him pulled towards the wall.

"Implosion grenade, pulls you toward it rather than releasing an external force, can't escape this one."

"Oh now you are going to send me back to Belle Reve now right?"

I pulled my gun on Sportsmaster. "Nah, rather, this is for Blue Beatle. For Ted."

"Wai-" then silence as he stuffed the gun in Sportsmaster's mouth..

"Tell Joker that Robin say's hello," I mock.

"BANG," as my gun went off.

"Oracle, What have you found on the footage from Sportsmaster's interrogation," Arkham Knight said.

"The location he mentioned. It's in Sudan."

"Why do you think Savage is there?"

"This is the 50,000 year old right?"

"Yes"

"There is a crater there. If he got his powers from a meteorite it might have created that crater. And that would line up with the genetic evidence to support the out of Africa theory."

"The out of Africa theory?"

"The idea that humans migrated out of Africa into Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and the Yellow River civilization. If Savage has lived 50,000 years, he would have probably lived in modern Sudan."

"Ok, so his private HQ is his home. I'm going to go pay him a visit. Send me the modified footage and go home."

"Don't you need me to-"

"Cheer from the sidelines as I kick Savage's #$$. Don't worry I got this. Arkham Knight out."

* * *

 **OUTSIDE DESTORIED HIVE HQ**

 _Tigress POV_

We just got attacked by a killer robot that can take down a (half) Kryptonian. Dad what have you gotten yourself into. I just thought of him as dad didn't I. Icould only see Batgirl and Superboy. The others must have escaped a different way. Better go find them.

"What happened," we heard someone yell at them from the sky. I could tell by the tint who this was.

"Caption Atom," I said.

"We were attacked by some robot. We defeated it before it self-destructed," Batgirl said. "We lost Sportsmaster."

"Hold on, we have not lost him yet," Robin's voice came out of the smoke. He was with Lagoon Boy and Miss Martian. "We found a tunnel connecting somewhere. This might be where Sportsmaster headed."

"Alright lets go," Tigress declared.

"Wait," Batgirl said. "This is an underground structure right."

"Yes," Lagoon Boy said.

"Then if another one of those things explode down there we could all be trapped."

"Neptune's Beard, we are here to catch Sportsmaster, I'm going after him." Lagoon boy then stormed off

"Lagoon Boy!" Batgirl yelled.

"No arguing him, what's the worst that we can come across," Tigress said.

 **HIVE UNDERGROUND**

"T-T-T-Thats-" I could not give a complete answer.

"Sportsmaster?!" Robin declared.

"Great Poseidon's Barnacles," Lagoon Boy said.

None of them could believe what they were looking at. Sportsmaster, my father, was dead. Who had done this?

"Why would they-" I tried to say said.

"We will figure that out later?" Barbra said. She then pulled me aside. "Listen, I want you to go spend time with your sister."

"Listen I can-"

"Justice League protocol remember. I am putting you on leave for a week."

"Alright" I declared. I picked up my phone and started to dial. "Mom." I said into the phone. "It's about dad."

* * *

 **HIVE CHOPPER**

 _Damien Darhk POV_

"Hello Maxwell, it's been the longest time since we have chatted. If I didn't know any better you would be stuck at the lowest pit of hell where the most corrupt sleazebags are kept," a man said into the phone.

"Capitol Hill, no Damien that is across Pennsylvania Ave. Here I am surrounded by respected military personal, loyal civil servants, and decades of fine art and history," came from the phone.

"HAHAHA, oh that's why I picked you to lead this country Maxwell, you have actual charm unlike some of our partners."

"Well technically you did not vote for me Damien."

"Hey! Had Governor Blood won it would have been easier to control the meta human community."

"True, but I would also have to deal with his kids. At least this guy's are all grown up."

"Mr. President, the President of Enrea and Qurac will be arriving soon to talk about Bialya," a younger voice said out of the phone.

"I have to go," the President says.

"We can talk about why I wanted to talk later President Lane," I then hung up the phone.

"Sir we have reached the destination," my pilot said.

* * *

 **ARKHAM KNIGHT'S SHIP, OVER NIGER**

 _Arkham Knight POV_

"[RING] [RING]" an incoming call. I look at the caller ID and immediately pick up.

"Mother how are you?" I ask her.

"I'm doing well Jason," she responded. "I see that you are taking the ship I gave you to East Africa from Louisiana. Shouldn't you be in Los Angeles."

"I got a lead on HIVE activities outside New Orleans after the Belle Reve incident."

"Do you think Sportsmaster is working with our enemies? I know he left the Light but going to HIVE isn't what I thought he would end up doing."

"Take a look at the video footage I'm sending you." I use screen sharing on my computer to broadcast the video Oracle sent me to her.

 _Video_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," Sportsmaster screams.

"Ha HAHAHA. You still care about your wife and daughters! After everything you did to them, why do you think they would care about you at all. Now. Where is he going?" Darhk asked.

"Ra's. HE... HE'S HEADING TO NANDA PARBAT," Sportsmaster said.

 _Arkham Knight POV_

"Why would he need to get information on Ra's location? Shouldn't he already know about Nanda Parbat?" I ask her.

"Maybe he was wondering if my father had any new bases?" she responded. "Either way, it is probably good intel to know that Sportsmaster is working for HIVE-"

"Sportsmaster's dead," I tell her. "He escaped from his cell and was killed in a hallway."

"How do you know that's what happened?"

"I killed him."

"Well. It's sad you wasted such a good asset. But why are you heading to East Africa?"

"Aren't you very nosey today."

"I want to know what you are using my equipment and money for. A good business leader keeps track of their assets."

"Madam Head, Secretary General Luthor is on line," one of her employees told her.

"Tell him I'm keeping track of an asset," she responded.

"I'm going to Sudan to see if Miss Martian had anything to with its recent diplomatic fight with Bialya."

"You think she is behind anything that goes on with that country or anything that goes on with your old friends."

"Well, she was behind my death," I remind her. "And I assume your going to give me the usual sum of cash for destroying a HIVE facility."

* * *

 **Only difference between the game Arkham Knight costume and the one here is that he doesn't have a unique logo but instead its the black one Batman uses.**


	2. Flashback: An Uninvited Guest

**Wow. I did not update my account for a while. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Team Year: 4

 **RED SEA COAST,** **BIALYA**

 _Robin POV_

"Tell me boy wonder. How does this feel?" he asks towering above me. Then he takes the crowbar and hits me as I laid on the ground, still hurting from the last hit.

"[WHACK]" He hits my chest, luckily right in the middle of where the armor is strongest. But still #%^& that hurt!

"Or how about this!"

"[WHACK]" That time it hits me in the stomach, armor is weaker there, but I can take the pain.

"Or this!"

"[WHACK]" That one hits me in the head.

"Yeah... Yeah that %$#^ hurts," I tell him. "[Cough]" I let little bit of blood out onto the ground.

"What's that pretty boy?" he asks.

"STOP IT!" she yells, thinking it can help me.

"Shut it #!$%^ or I'll ask you what Mr. Crowbar thinks next!" he yells back at her.

"[cough] Leavvveeeee... [cough] [cough] her [cough] [cough] alone..." I can barely get through saying that. I have to get his attention, before he does something to her.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH. Is there something you want to say?" he asks mockingly.

"[cough]" I cough quieter than usual to bring him in closer.

"I can't hear you!" he yelled at me at a distance that could break my ears.

"[COUGH]" This loud cough spit blood all over his face as I smirked. He rubbed his hand over his face to feel the blood on it. Then grabbed my neck and brought me to his face.

"That was rude! At least my father taught me good manners!" he yelled.

"[WHACK]!"

"I suppose I'm going to have to show you what a responsible adult acts like. After all you already know my assistant, MR. CROWBAR. Ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

He then threw me on the ground before raising the crowbar.

Not how I expected this day... this week to go.

* * *

Three Days Earlier

 **MOUNT JUSTICE**

"All of you ready for one trip to space," Black Canary told us.

"Born ready!" Mary enthusiastically says.

"Is this everybody?"

"The others are at Nightwing's gymnastics competition," Zatanna said.

"Why aren't you-" Black Canary tried to ask.

"Because I felt that standing and holding a sign that says 'I hope you fall and shatter your testicles' was a poor use of my time," Zatanna says with a forced smile and choking an imaginary neck in her hands. Black Canary took a step away to escape Zatanna's murderous aura directed at her ex-boyfriend.

"Alright kiddos line up," I hear Black Canary say in desperation.

"We are not kids," Karen moaned. Everybody agreed. Nobody like to be treated like a kid. Especially a bunch of teenagers who had saved the world a couple of times over.

"Sure you aren't," Black Canary says sarcastically as she implemented temporary codes for the team to access the watchtower. Donna, Rocket, and Mary were the first to go through the portal.

 **"** **Recognized** **Rocket. B09.** **Recognized** **Troia. B12.** **Recognized** **Mary Bromfield. A07."**

Zatanna was moping on the ground to herself and most of us looking and thinking what we can do to help. I, however, had something else to say.

"You brought this upon yourself." As the words visibly hurt Zatanna, whose shocked face could only be matched by the rest of the room, my happiness contrasted violently against her. "I believe I win."

"Huh?" she asked confused.

"Don't you remember," I say turning on a holo-recording. Everybody was focused on the holograms I had just set up depicting Zatanna and I in the cave's kitchen. Both of us wearing civilian clothes. Even Garth and Tula were looking as they went through Zeta Tube.

 **"** **Recognized** **Tempest. B10.** **Recognized** **Aquagirl. B11."**

"I wish the best for them," the holographic Zatanna said sitting on one of the stools in the kitchen. "After all sweet guy, sweet girl, what can go wrong?"

"50% chance he cheats on her," my holographic-self declared from behind the counter. The holo-Zatanna shoots me a look.

"Why do you think that?" holo-Zatanna asked with curiosity?

"The whole Hawk and Dove affair."

"The who's affair?" Holo-me raises an eyebrow at her ignorance.

"Do you still not know his secret identity?"

"No, Batman banned him from-" Like Batman ever stopped him from doing something.

"Yeah but given how much he hates boss, I thought he'd tell you out of pure spite." The holograms take a second to question what Nightwing would do. "I honestly thought that Dick would."

"Why do you always use the same insult for him?"

"Well adulterer might work right now, but Dick has always been a natural name for him."

"I'd say," holo-Zatanna said sultry in an attempt to embarrass holo-me, but ended up just embarrassing real-Zatanna in front of the remaining group.

 **"Recognized Billy Batson. A05. Recognized Freddy Freeman. A06."**

Not an unexpected response from those two.

"I know for a fact he lost his virginity after dating you," my holo-self declared.

"Are you telling me Batman keeps track of that," holo-Zatanna asked skeptically. After a non-response from holo-me silenced her, real people started asking questions.

"He… doesn't do that… right?" Karen asked with fear and embarrassment in her voice. The silence that followed amplified feelings of embarrassment from everyone but me.

 **"** **Recognized** **Karen Beecher. A09.** **Recognized** **Mal Duncan. A10."**

The silence finally broke as the holograms continued talking.

"Does that have anything-" holo-Zatanna attempts to ask.

"-to do with why I think he will cheat on either this or his next girlfriend," holo-me finished. "No."

"When did his 'next-'" she said with air quotes. "-girlfriend start factoring into this debate."

"I said 50% chance. That means out of two girlfriends he should cheat on one of them."

"That sounds like betting odds."

"What should we wager? I'm saying I give you 150K if he doesn't cheat."

"Well… We all agreed not to further your gambling habits… but you're on."

"First of all, my habit isn't gambling in general, it's gambling and winning. Second, if I win you have to subscribe for a year to Dark Knights and Sword of Sorcery and read the entire thing."

Dark Knight and Sword of Sorcery sound like a fantasy light novel series, but they would hate to hear that. They are the leading anti-magic proponents in the US. A combination of superstitious religious nutjobs and egotistic scientists have been brought together in their disapproval of magic based heroes and artifacts. Of course, holo-Zatanna took a second to rethink the bet before declaring.

"Your on!" The two holo's then shake hands before I turn it off.

"Prepare to pay up," I tell the trembling Zatanna, on her knees and depressed about the situation she's in. "Can you start crying so I can take some photos?"

"YOU BRUTE!" she cried, obviously fake. "How can you be so cruel?!" she overdramatized.

"Why did you believe that merely crying would get you out of this? Or for that matter why did you date him while our bet was still on? He didn't date anyone between Tsang and you."

"I thought I could date and break up with him!" she admitted, crying her way through it.

"You managed to lose a bet you were actively rigging. How bad do you have to be to fail like that?" An imaginary arrow visibly wounds Zatanna's pride.

"Quite bad... but how did you know this would happen?" she asked, creating more fake tears.

"Um… There's another girl, sort of." Dick either feels great love or great guilt for Barbra. But I doubt he'd ever ask while she doesn't know about his role in her paralysis. I wonder what she would think about it. "He has a certain degree of denial about it though, might have been why he dated you." Zatanna took my assessment of why they dated poorly before resigning herself to it.

"I kind of got the feeling that we both wanted the 'relationship' for different reasons anyway. Why am I saying this out loud?" She asks herself before seeing a light emerge from her leg. Black Canary notices it too and yells at me.

"Robin! Stop torturing Zatanna and return Donna's lasso before she stabs you again!" she panics for my (and everyone between Donna and me's) safety. I give them an innocent shrug before picking up the lasso of truth and walking to the Zeta-tube. "And should you be gloating over her relationship while you still steal from your girlfriend." I stiffen at Black Canary's allegation.

"We! Are! Not! A! Couple!" I spell out for them letting the rage flow out as I strangle the air.

"Your lying," Zatanna accuses me. I simply point to the lasso I'm holding in my hand.

"Give us one reason why you two dating don't want to date."

"Well her mom hates me for starters," I blurt out. %$#^!

%$#^ %$#^ %$#^ %$#^ %$#^!

"You've met her mother?" The two of them ask me skeptically. %$#^ing Lasso of Truth! If Donna or Wonder Woman find's out I told them, I am dead. They'll send some Themysciran black-ops team to kill me. "You've been to the island of Themyscira." They now ask shocked. "How?" They have very strict no-outsiders policy, especially male, yet somehow I got on Paradise Island.

"Donna sent me there."

%$#^ THIS LASSSO!

Now I'm stuck between telling more of the story or trying to run away.

Meanwhile, their faces go from surprised to sadistic smiles, as they preemptively enjoy all the fun they will have with this knowledge. I can already imagine what they are going to say.

 _"Wow what did you give her to get onto the isle of no men? Fancy dinner, jewelry, a romantic massage?"_

 _"She picked you over her mom's advice! True love!"_

 _"You've already met her parent! So cute!"_ I would say parents because the clay story is bull$#!%, but everyone else seems to buy it.

At least they don't know the full extent of that disastrous trip. Donna and I agree that we would never be able to be seen together again if they knew the full extent of what happened on Themyscira.

"That joke is never going away," I groan at them. Donna and I had one awkward moment together! ONE (that they know of), and ever since I've been Robin the entire team and most of the JL (including Wonder Woman!) have made jokes that Donna and I are a couple. And every time somebody makes a joke Donna blames me and tries to stab me or something because she blames me for the rumors.

"We saw the footage and consider it fact," Zatanna adds mockingly. That footage is so out of context, AND GREEN ARROW'S FAULT. "And she wanted to make-" I cut her off before she could tell Black Canary about that.

"Do you want to see what footage I have?" I say in the most Batman voice possible, but with my evil smile. I don't have anything, but the Batman voice gives me credibility. "I will use it."

The two of them blink first.

There's a loud silence until Zatanna and I go through the portal.

 **"** **Recognized** **Zatanna. B08.** **Recognized** **Robin. B13."**

* * *

 **THE WATCHTOWER**

"For what it's worth I think it's tragic that I won this bet because you watched him %$#^ Tarantula," I reminded her of how she went to Bludhaven to work a case with Artemis then saw them %$#^ on a building. Though Nightwing was way too surprised by their presence. If you do it outside...

"Thanks for pitying me," she said. "But-"

"I said it was tragic not sad." She looked at me to explain the difference. "Sad means unexpected. This is tragic because you ignored so many obvious signs about how this was going to end." She twitches her eyes at my observation. "BUT! Because you've come around to my view of Dick, I'll let you off the hook."

"[DEEP BREATH]" She feels a great burden lifted from her and rejoices at what she's avoided. Then her face goes from joyful to curious.

"Why do you think so negatively of Nightwing?" Zatanna asked me. "I mean you seemed so confident that he'd be a scumbag-" she starts to grit her teeth.

I doubt she'll ever get over the Tarantula thing, unless something more dramatic happens this week.

Maybe they will finally consider my 'no relationships between teammates' rule. I must keep suggesting this because I know things the rest of the League, including Batman (who wisely chose to remain plausibly deniable), doesn't.

"-when the rest of us didn't. So what gives? You're his successor and probably looked up to him more than anyone."

"Because he never wanted or has approved of me being Robin and has tried to get to me to quit ever since." I take an internal sigh. %$#^ing Lasso of Truth.

Zatanna took a long look at me before she stopped walking to ponder. "And it felt very rejecting to hear that from somebody I looked up to." I can't drop this and run because I'll be stabbed if Donna finds it before I do, and if she asks me another question, I could say more than I want. I guess I should walk as fast as possible and hope Zatanna doesn't catch up... or in general blab to Donna… %$#^ she might do that.

While I was internally panicking, I entered what I assumed is the observatory of the Watchtower. Where the rest of the gang had an unobstructed view of the Earth.

While I'd like to focus on the earth, my first objective is getting past Mal, Karen, Garth, and Tula so I can return Donna's Lasso without being seen. I have it between by back and cape right now, so if they don't pay too much attention, I can hide it long enough to bump Donna and return it.

"We have saved that thing about a dozen times by now," Mary declared, to a awestruck group.

"Hell yeah we did!" I remind everyone with greater enthusiasm while moving past Mal and Garth. "How did you guys get this thing? This sort of view must be expensive." I ask Black Canary, trying to start a long story until I can return the Lasso.

"The Guardian of the Universe." Donna and Tula are too close together for me to sneak the lasso back to her. "The Justice League was looking for a new headquarters and the Green Lantern Corps had a spare base a few systems away. Stealth technology is the best in the universe and no Earth tech can detect it. Hence why it has been secret all this time."

"Interesting," Tempest said. "The Green Lantern Corp has dozens of these."

"Well newer models."

"So we got their old junk," I pointed out.

"You think this is junk." Lantern said mockingly as the lights turned off.

"Well, junk would do that." I said as the lights were off.

"That's bizarre. I'll check in on that," John Stewart said as the lights turned on. Green Lantern then traveled down a long hallway.

"[*CLICK*]," Robin looked over and saw Mary taking a lot of photos. "[*CLICK*] [*CLICK*] [*CLICK*] [*CLICK*]"

"HEY!" Black Canary yelled at Mary. "No photos!"

I should have asked for a team photo, gotten next to Donna, and returned the lasso!

"What!" Mary yelled in her insecure shock. "I-I-I-I didn't mean- Why should- I wish I could-" Mary continued to nervously look in all directions confused about why Black Canary yelled at her.

"Mary! Its League policy to not allow images taken on the Watchtower to be taken off."

"WHY?" Mal complained with his arm around Karen. "I wanted a picture with my girl!" he pulled out a camera to show off.

"I wanted to take one for Augustus," Rocket said.

"I was also hoping to have a memento with Garth," Tula said grabbing Garth's hand. Finally she moved away from Donna's lasso side.

"Because we don't want any sensitive information leaking out of our headquarters," Black Canary responded.

"Y'all don't think that's a bit extreme," Rocket asked.

"Yes." Everybody on the team except me said.

"No." I was forced to say.

"Man why aren't you joinin us," Mal asked me. Great now the attention is focused on me. So I can neither lie because of the lasso or stealthily return it because of the attention.

"Because Batman sets a high bar for something to be considered an unnecessary security device," I tell him.

"What does he keep detailed scans of what goes on in the bathroom?"

"More like a generic log than a detailed one."

"Oh please, Batman doesn't watch people when they go to the bathroom in the Batcave."

I drop the lasso and look away rather than talk.

"He doesn't right?," Black Canary asked in a panic. My lack of response and sent her into silence. I take a risk and kick the lasso up to my hands behind my back, hoping everyone will look away from me before they ask another question-

"What is the Batcave like?," Tula asked right before I could grab it. I panicked and let it drop so it can't compel me.

Very few people had seen the Batcave. Even though many members of the Justice League had not seen the cave. They knew it existed, but little about what's in it. Some people who had asked me about it thought it was a weapons bunker and torture chamber. Well... it had both of those things, but they probably did not expect the giant dinosaur to be there.

"Can't say," everyone started to look at him. "What! Batman's orders." I hold my hands up innocently.

"Why is he so secretive?" Tempest asks.

"It's simple." Everybody pays closer attention to me. "He thinks you are all easily exploitable and thus a liability." I'm standing on the lasso aren't I. Everybody now feels their pride damaged except for Black Canary. "Including you." Then they all started yelling at me simultaneously.

"What did I do?" Mary said in panic, taking what I said extremely personally.

"What do we have to do with this guy?" Tempest asked.

"Oh come on!" Mal yelled in anger.

"Of course he thinks like that," Black Canary said with little surprise.

"Why does he act like that?" Billy asked.

They all continue to yell at me for a few minutes. Asking so many questions the Lasso couldn't focus on one.

"What does he think will happen to us?!" Zatanna yelled.

"That somebody will get access to your text messages and use them against you," I tell them. I kicked up the lasso because its easier to hide behind my back.

"What makes you think super villains can see my text messages?!" Mal asked.

"Because he has." The entire room was silent for a few seconds and Mal even froze in place. "Batman, Blue Beetle, and I built the Justice League's text message system."

Several of them cuddled themselves as they felt their privacy be violated. Freddy pulled out his phone and looked at it in horror. Mal attempted to avert his eyes from his girlfriend.

"I haven't seen them," I say in a joking tone, to try and imply everything I said was a lie. While the lasso may compel the truth, it does not compel deception. They look at me in shock, wondering why I would put them through that. "But now you see why he believes you are compromised."

"Not really." Freddy says.

"If you're not smart enough to figure that out, it just proves his point." They all are infuriated by my insults but no more than usual.

"Well, can't say that I'm surprised that Batman overreacts on security," Zatanna said.

"Is Superman's like this?" Karen asks.

"Nah his Fortress of Solitudes security is quite lax." Ughhhhh. LLLAAAASSSSSOOOOO!

"WAIT," Rocket yelled. I really shouldn't have said that. "YOU have been to the Fortress of Solitude." At that moment all eyes are focused on me, I'm not sure if Donna has noticed that I have her lasso and just wants me to be attached to it, or is focusing on the insult of me going to the Fortress of Solitude (the child behind the Maxima Affair) instead of her.

"Seriously! I have way more experience than you and even I haven't been there," Zatanna said.

"Is it in the ocean?" Aquagirl asked. "If it is, I think Garth and I could find it?"

"Is it like his own kingdom?" Mary asks. "Does he have a throne?" The King of Krypton? I'd say Almerac, but Superman doesn't like me thinking, let alone talking, about that.

"Is it like really cool, or are we setting our expectations too high," Freddy asked.

"Ummmmm..." I really did not know how to respond to that last question. It was... weird. Like he has zoo, and statues, and his robot clones. It appears he tried to create a world that he can fit in because ours doesn't work for Superman, unlike the Batcave. Bruce may never admit, but he loves showing the Batcave off. "It's very Superman."

Everybody then looked at me as though they were expecting something more specific.

"Does it have a-" Billy asks.

Before Billy can finish his question, a can rolled into the center of our group and we all look at it.

"SHAZ-" Mary, Billy, and Freddy tried to say. But a gas emerges from the can covering the observatory.

"[BBBBBOOOOOOMMMMMM]"

I stop by breathing, exhaling only a small amount of air to escape my mouth to make sure no gas got into my lungs while I put on a breather. I believe the entrance was to my 2'oclock and start walking that way. As I move forward, I see a darker shade in the gas. I walk around it and see that it's a blue half dome. Must be Rocket's shield.

"[TAP]" I hit the shield. "[TAP] [TAP]" I don't know if they can see my hand, but I signal them to follow me. As I walk further I see the gas dissipate in a hallway.

Once out of the gas's range, I lean against the wall. "[Breathing] [Breathing]"

"Yall ok!" Rocket asks me. I look back and see Rocket and Tempest behind me. Rocket was holding up a shield to prevent the gas from coming into the hallway.

"Rocket got the shield up before any gas could come in," Tempest told me.

"Ye- [cough] Yeah I'm fine." I click my communicator. "Robin to team. Anybody else come in." There isn't a response. "Robin to team."

"Mal here!" comes out of my communicator. "But Karen has been knocked out."

"Just knocked out?"

"Yeah she's snoring away."

"I'm gonna tell her ya said that," Rocket added.

"At least the gas isn't lethal," I point out.

"Great, but who would throw a gas can on the Justice League HQ."

"Group first, ask questions later. Where are you?" I ask a question. "Garth, Rocket and I are in some hallway."

"Stay there," Black Canary says over the communicator. "There is only one entrance and exit."

"And it's just been gassed," Mal says.

"Captain Marvel?" I ask. There is no response. "Sergeant Marvel? Lieutenant Marvel? Zatanna? Tula-"

"I have Zatanna she's also down," Black Canary says

"Are they all-" Tempest attempted to ask in great concern.

"Knocked out?" I say before he could panic about his girlfriend. "It appears whoever did this took out five of our heavy hitters with one attack."

"John?" Black Canary attempts to contact. Forgot about Green Lantern being on the station. "He's not responding either."

"And he wasn't in the room with us," Tempest said.

"Meaning that whoever attacked us might have attacked him with gas too," I point out. I pull out my spare air filter. "I only have one more." Rocket and Tempest look at each other.

"I can put up a shield," Rocket said. Tempest nods, taking the air filter in case another chemical weapon is used.

"Anybody got a clue about who is behind this," Mal asked.

"They couldn't have known about us being here," Black Canary says. "You all were only told you could come here yesterday."

"Unless they were listening in on us in the Cave after we captured Calculator," I add.

"Can yall use the communicator to contact Earth," Rocket asks, tapping her communicator.

"No communications are being jammed, but we could locate the origin from the computer in the main room," Black Canary adds

"Which one's the main room?" I ask.

"The one we just came out of." We all look at Rocket's shield.

"$#!%" I add.

"Language!" Black Canary asks despite knowing it's futile.

"So none of you can contact the rest of the League!" the radio added. "Good to know." HE'S HERE! Why is he aboard the Watchtower?!

"Who are you?" Mal asked angrily.

"[SLAM]" the entrance to the room in front of us slams shut and the lights turn off. "[STATIC] [STATIC]"

"Mal, Canary come in," I ask. Rocket uses her energy belt as a flash light.

"[STATIC] [STATIC]"

"[BAM]. #^%! he's blocked communication," I say slamming my fist against the wall.

"Ya know this guy?" Rocket asks with her and Tempest looking at me.

"Yeah," I pull up holographic profile of the voice on my computer. "Grant Wilson, AKA Ravager." With an all-white cowl and a half-orange, half-black vest, Sword, multiple sub-machine guns, and a utility belt. I can tell that Rocket and Tempest know who he is related to.

"He looks a lot like Deathstroke," Tempest notes.

"I thought we agreed to call him Slade?" Rocket asks.

"Not that surprising," I tell them. "Like father like son."

"It's his son!" Tempest says in surprise.

"How's that possible?" Rocket asks.

"He has three kids by two marriages and an affair," I tell them.

"International assassins can get marriage licenses?"

"Australian Special Forces-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH" a scream can be heard from the distance.

"-can-"

Tempest, Rocket, and I run down the hall. We come in front of another metallic door blocking our way from the source of the scream.

"Tempest," I ask. Tempest then channels his magical energy into a high powered beam that functions like a blowtorch. He crafts a small hole in the door to allow us to step through. Tempest and I go in and initially can't see anything because Rocket was the one with the light. But when she steps through the door we see some blood splattered against the wall. Rocket shined the light in all directions and saw that the blood was led into a ventilation shaft.

"That's unhelpful," Tempest points out.

"Why do they make ventilation shafts big enough for someone to escape from?" Rocket asks.

"Do you not get how air filtering works?" I ask. Tempest tries to walk into the ventilation shaft.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"After whoever's blood this is," Tempest responds.

"In the dark," I ask.

"Can you loan me a flashlight?"

"Why don't we turn the lights back on?" Rocket asks.

"I agree," I tell her.

"Seriously," she says surprised by my lack of mockery.

"Seriously."

"How?" Tempest asks. I activate my holo-computer to show them the Watchtower's schematics.

"The Watchtower's lights and other systems appear to all be off, but Ravager didn't do it through the computer," I say pointing to two locations on opposite ends of the bottom of the tower. "Which means he must have attacked the Watchtower generators. We're going to have to fix them."

"And if there's no power we can't contact the League," Rocket adds.

"Or Zeta back," Tempests adds.

"Where did ya get these Watchtower designs?"

"Irrelevant."

* * *

Thirty Minutes Later

 **BASEMENT COMPUTER ROOM, WATCHTOWER**

"This should be the last door," I tell them. Rocket and Garth cut the last door to the room to the computer with their energy powers.

"Why does this take so long?" Rocket complained.

"What would you expect from a security system?" I reply. Rocket nods with her head. The two of them then stopped using their powers.

"It's done," Tempest tells me. The hole made in the door falls out. The three of us then went through the hole and entered a room surrounded by a bunch of boxes on shelves.

"What are these?" Tempest asks. I investigate the center of the room and see that a computer is turned on.

"It's evidence the Justice League collected over the-" Rocket replies.

"SHHHH!" I quiet them. "Turn off the light." The three of us then gather against one of the shelves as Rocket stops using her powers to light our way.

"Are we not here to turn on the light?" Tempest asks quietly.

"There is somebody in here," I tell them. Rocket and Tempest look around but the only light available was the one from the computer in the center. Rocket taps my shoulder and points to the ground. There is trail of blood from the computer to behind another shelf three rows over.

I pull out a batarang and throw it to the end of the trail of blood. I wait for it to explode but then the batarang is thrown out from behind the shelf.

"[BOOOOOOM]" The three of us are on edge after that. Rocket and Tempest power up to prepare for the fight, but I think the light they generate just gave away our position.

"[SCREEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCHHHHHH]"

"Ahhhhhhhhh-" the three of us scream as this sound hurts our ears. My hearing pieces block out the sound after a while but then I see the shelf falling over. I shove the two of them off to the side as the shelf falls over. As the two of them struggle to get up I prepare several more explosive batarangs. Then a giant net came at me. I jumped out to the side only to see hands extend from the net. I throw two explosive batarangs at the hands coming from the net, but it catches them.

"[BOOOOOOOOOOOM]" the two batarangs explode in the nets hand, causing it to fall back. I prepare to throw two more but the sound attack from earlier attacks me again.

"[SCREEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCHHHHHH]"

The sound attack sends me back at least ten feet. I jump over to the right so that I can't be seen. I look over and see that the net has captured Tempest and Rocket. They are trying to struggle out of it like one of Clayface's victims. If the net is sentient, I should get my taser out.

"[SCREEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHH]"

The screech attacks on the left of me. I guess whoever is behind the attack can't see me. Using this to my advantage I move around the room.

"[SCREEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHHHHH]"

I see the attack come from something in the enemy's hand. Once the device is turned off I take the chance to jump him. I first kick the device out of his hand. He then blocks my next kick, but I am able to slide between his legs and jump onto his back. He moves around a lot, but I am able to bring my taser to his neck.

"So you think you can take me kid!" The guy yells- Wait I recognize that voice.

"Beetle?" I ask. He then jumps around some more to try and get me off him. "Beetle it's me!" He stops moving around.

"Robin?" Blue Beetle asks. "That you."

"Yep." The two of us awkwardly stand in place as neither of us know whether or not to step down.

"[BBBWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE]"

The two of us look over and see electricity generate from the area Tempest, Rocket, and the net (probably Plastic Man).

"Hey Tempest, Rocket stand down!" I yell at them.

"Plastic Man it's the kids!" Blue Beetle yells at Plastic Man. I lightly hit him for calling us that. "Ow"

The three of them stand down and Rocket uses her powers to shine a light over the three of them. I look down and see that Blue Beetle is bleeding onto the floor.

"$#!%," I say jumping off of him and pulling out bandages. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he says with pain, falling to the ground and lying down. I pull out a fist aid kit to help mitigate the bleeding. "I dealt with most of the sword wound earlier."

"Then you came here to try and get the computer system up and running."

"Pretty much."

"Can you let go of my foot?" Tempest asks. I turn around to look at the trio. Its dark, especially towards the ground, but I can tell that they are all far enough apart that they couldn't be touching each other.

"Did you have a third person with you?" I ask them.

"What? No," Blue Beetle responded.

"Then who is holding my leg?" Tempest asks. Initially we don't think about what he could be feeling. But after a few seconds it hits us that there is something anchored to his legs. The darkness obscures whatever it is, leaving our imaginations to think of the worst.

Rocket uses her powers to form a small light. The light first showed Tempest waist. Rocket then slowly moved the light down his legs. Once the light got past his knee cap, she moved the light even slower, which when combined with the silence testified the atmosphere.

"[DEEP BREATHING]"

Rocket shines the light further down. Slowing as it approaches the ankle, until it eventually stops. We all stand there looking at the part of his leg above where the hand is grabbing him. But with no light shining on his ankle the anticipation gained with every moment as Tempest's face showed nothing but absolute horror. Eventually Rocket erratically moves her shaking hand up and down until the only thing we can see from Tempest is his foot...

...

... and the hand attached to it!

We don't react quickly but rather each of us prepares slowly for battle. Rocket charges up her energy, Tempest prepares to cast a spell, Blue Beetle picks up his Beetle Gun, Plastic Man expands, and I pull out a batarang with a knockout toxin on it. But before any of us could do something the hand gripped Tempest tighter.

"[CCCCCCCRRRRRRRAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKK]"

The floor below Tempest started to break apart, and then, suddenly movement, it collapsed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH," Tempest screamed as he was dragged into the hole. Rocket, Plastic Man, and I each moved instantly towards Tempest. He was already out of our sight and on the floor below us by the time we surrounded the hole that dragged him in. Each of us were prepared to follow him into the hole, however something emerged from the hole first. A small metallic device flew up and we all diverted our eyes to it.

"[**FLASH**]"

%$#^! A flashbang! I'm not sure for how long, but I can't tell what is going on after it exploded. Eventually I come through and make vague eye contact with Plastic Man and Rocket. I think my hearing hasn't come back yet because I can't hear Tempest's screams.

"Yall ok," Rocket asks me. Never mind I can hear perfectly.

"Tempest!" the two of us worry simultaneously.

Rocket establishes a brighter light and the two of us jump down. We look in all directions, but neither Ravager nor Tempest are there. However, a trail of blood leading to a ventilation shaft.

"What do you guys see down there?" Blue Beetle asks.

"Tempest is gone!" Rocket yells. I can hear Beetle cuss but can't make out the word.

"Do you have any leads?"

"Just the ventilation shaft," I respond.

"Robin can you help me get the computer working."

"Shouldn't we, ya know go after the kid," Plastic Man asks.

"Shouldn't we, ya know find where the kid is," Blue Beetle responds sarcastically. "Deathstroke is going to-"

"It's Ravager not Deathstroke," I interject.

"Who?"

"His son."

"HIS SON!" Blue Beetle and Plastic Man say together.

"I'll explain once we get the lights on."

* * *

 **Yeah this is a long time coming, especially since I've had this for a while. Expect more updates in the near future.**


	3. The First Strike

**Wow I have not updated this in a while. So here I updated two chapters (after like forever), though to be honest the most new stuff is in the next chapter. Mainly minor differences, but fun ideas about certain characters are added. The next present day arc will be much more fast paced, much more Jason and Team, and full of surprises.**  


* * *

Present: 1 day later

 **ARKHAM KNIGHT'S SHIP, DERIBA CALDERA, SUDAN**

 _Arkham Knight POV_

This is where Savage was made huh. Doesn't look like much. A small volcano with a lake, where an asteroid is supposed to have hit before it was filled with water. If he is here he must be underground. Weird that an immortal would spend his private time in the ground. Wonder if he regrets not being able to die. Well... I can fix that.

"Oracle, can I scan the underground of this area?" I ask.

"Yes, ok. Uhh... We can create a seismic shock large enough to scan the area we will be able to use the sensors in the Knight-Wing-" She told me.

"That name is already taken," I remind her.

"Spell it with a K."

"Nobody will be able to tell the difference."

"IN THE PLANE we should be able to scan for any caverns, man made or otherwise bellow."

"Greeeat! Blow up the surface above, that's an extremely stealthy entrance. Why don't I blast LMFAO across his house?" I said with sarcasm.

"Then we have no idea where or how to get into his HQ."

The stealth option is the best since I'm dealing with somebody that has gone toe to toe with just about every member of the Justice League. While Savage's powers are not completely known, it is going to take a lot to take him down. He could take substantial amounts of pain, immunity to toxins. Probably a result of his immortality.

"Alright I'm going to bomb it," I declared. My (well mom's) ship was armed with lasers, machine guns, bombs, and a tractor beam with stealth, sonic speed thrusts, and an aquatic mode. As I started arming the bomb I moved the plane to the edge of the crater lake. "Preparing to drop."

The hatch was released and the bomb fell. "The Quaker" as these bombs are know, are Queen Industries designed and (formerly) built. Used by the US military in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Very reliable, excess production was caused by the end of the Enrea-Bialyia war early. Luckily they sold it off to a Central Asian nation in the mid-2000s that collapsed about 1 year ago, allowing Lexcorp steal one and copy the design. You are supposed to have special permission from the US Congress before. But, does anyone actually think Lexcorp cares?

"[BOOOOOOOOM]," and as powerful as a Daisy Cutter, basically seems like a second meteor hit.

"The scanners are picking up an underground cave connected from some sort of hole at the edge." Oracle said. I moved the plane to where the scanners showed the entrance to be.

"Oracle the ground entrance is sealed how thick is it?" Arkham Knight asked.

"If the scanners are not picking it up, then less than 1 inch thick."

"Then I can use a laser cutter. Arkham Knight out."

I jumped down to the entrance, hitting the ground. "[CLANCK!]" Must be the door. There are probably traps and automated security systems on the opposite side. I should be prepared.

I activate the laser cutter. The door is more like a circular hatch. I use the laser cutter to remove the parts between the frame and the hatch itself. After about 5 minutes of cutting, the door begins to fall towards me. I walk back and pullout my guns, aiming into the hatch. Yet that couldn't prepare me for what was in there.

Nothing.

There were no defense robots. Only one heat signature deep in the tunnel on the infrared. But nothing else? Have to be cautious.

I decided to go in. I walked into the door and down a bunch of stairs, slowly traveling through the hallway. All rock on the sides but it is too dark to see what is actually there.

[FLASH]

Lights lit up a set of stairs that led into a hallway. Throughout the cave I saw pictures hanging on the side. On both sides the photos seemed to be from the Industrial Revolution, maybe earlier.

I looked at the titles below them:

 **"Russia 1234."** A group of Mongol riders cross a river into a snowy plain.

 **"India 1857."** Attached to an image of British troops patrolling the streets of New Delhi.

 **"France 1848."** Attached to an image of a French court surrounding a kingly figure.

 **"Congo 1889."** Attached to an image of a contingent of Belgian troops traveling on a ship to a coast.

 **"Caribbean 1760."** Attached to an image of pirates fighting Spanish troops.

 **"China 1858."** Attached to an image of British and Chinese fleets fighting one another.

These must have been his identities, or at least his appearances, throughout time." There were dozens of them. They were all I could see until I got to a dome structure underground at the end of the hallway. Just as I entered the dome I saw the last one.

 **"Germany 1943."**

When I got into the dome I saw a set stairs connected to a throne which Savage was sitting on surrounded by weapons (swords, spears, lances, tridents) lodged into the ground.

"Well Batman? This is interesting." Savage said.

"I'm not Batman." I told him. "I'm better!"

"Are you sure you are not Batman?" He asked. "The costume similarities and the Bat-logo makes me sure you are Batman."

"Why did you let me in here so easily?" I ask curiously.

"I have lived for 50,000 years. You really think that anything can scare me enough to get security."

"I can." Ego, huh. That's why he let me in here. Well that got me killed. Seems as though Savage is going to make a similar mistake.

"Yeah right." Savage then jumped off of his throne and towards me. I pulled out my assault rifle and fired at Savage.

"[BANG] [BANG] [BANG]"

Savage threw a knife at the gun. The knife hit the barrel making the front half of my gun useless, but one of the bullets hit Savage in the eye. I used my thruster pack to fly backwards missing Savages pounce.

"Well I never expected to see Batman fire a gun," Savage declared with intrigue. That was probably the smartest thing about having my costume look like Batman. Nobody expects for me to pull out a gun.

"Now you believe that I am not Batman," Arkham Knight responded. I have to be able to restrict his movements. He can't see out of his left eye. I should try to cut off his left arm.

I charged at Savage only to have a lance thrown at me. I dodged it but had to attack Savage from his right rather than his left. Savage tried to grab me but I jumped backwards to create some distance. I then chucked a shuriken at Savage which he dodged before punching me in the gut and kicking my legs. As I lay on the ground Savage then picked up a sword and was about to start swinging at me. Then my shuriken came back and hit Savage's left arm before exploding off Savage's arm.

"Okay that was... not bad" Savage said with absolutely no pain in his voice. I then charged at Savage. Punching him only for my fist to be blocked by Savage. Swinging at Savage's leg with nothing in my hand. Savage looked away before not being able to feel his legs. Then he looked at my hand and saw a flaming sword.

Magic fire swords that appear and disappear at will. "Okay that was very smart. Its sad that I'm going to have to kill you."

Savage then fell to the ground missing three of his limbs. I then pulled out my gun before shooting him in the other eye and his last arm. I then ripped off Savage's last arm with my hands.

"A bloodthirsty one-" Savage was cut off when I cut out his voice box. His body stayed on the ground like beached whale.

Maybe I should have asked him where he kept it before- Never mind. I see the weapon I came here for among a dozen other swords, axes, and spears stabbed into the ground.

I approach it slowly, unsure of the negative effects it could have. I'm sure such a powerful weapon will be difficult to wield. But this is what I need to challenge the Justice League's Secret Society. Now I have the ability to do to them what they did to me.

As I grip the weapon with both hand I feel a reaction followed by a purple shock wave that's sent out in all directions.

"[SHHHHEEEEEWWWWW]"

I feel no push back from whatever that was, but I can no longer summon the All-Blades. Which means this is what I was looking for.

"Oracle I have Savage captured," I told Oracle.

"Alright. Why don't you come home and we can put him in a cell and plo-," I cut Oracle off.

"Not taking that chance. I need to do something in Washington DC now."

"What! It's 4am. I don't want to pull another all-nighter. [SOB] [SOB] Where are you heading? The Hall of Justice?"

* * *

Five hours later

 **ATLANTIC OCEAN**

Almost at the facility better contact Oracle.

"Oracle reconnect." I asked over and over again. After about a minute she responded.

"Still not talking to you."

"It was a joke."

"It was a joke that you snuck into an all-girls facility?" she asked unconvinced.

"Ok I did do that," I admit.

"Oh so you admit you are a-" she replies angrily.

"I was not trying to see anybody changing when I broke in," I hastily explain.

"You weren't trying to see anybody changing," she said. "But did you?" There is a long silence.

"Ok I haven't spied on you while you are changing."

"While I'm... ARE YOU SPYING ON ME!" she yelled in realization.

"Do you NOT want a security system around your apartment?" I argue back.

"I want to know what you are monitoring!" She is probably feeling really insecure.

"I'll show you when I get back, but can you please pull up the last few hours of Zeta Tube data from the League database and access the Brother AI system to tell me who is flying towards the area. Tell me who is in DC." I beg.

...

She'll tell me eventually.

...

...

If I ask over and over again-

"[PUFF] Alright," she says with a buried tone of anger. "We have Captain Marvel doing some sort of public relations thing in an hour, Black Canary and Green Arrow on a date, and..." she paused. "...Wonder Woman at the Themysciran Embassy."

"Well $#!%," I say. "Ok now I just have to go through a version of Superman immune to Kryptonite." Well I didn't bring my kryptonite with me anyways. "This should be fun." Why couldn't Cheetah have attacked? I scroll through the technology on my ship before I come across something helpful. "Oracle can you adapt the code in item 15 for a scenario I can send to you." I kept some advanced tech on the ship as a resupply in case something goes wrong.

"Item 15... Which is- That is... To an extent. Why?"

"I think I can get Wonder Woman to clear the embassy for me."

* * *

One Hour Later

 **OUTSIDE THEMYSCIRAN EMBASSY**

From the outside the Themysciran Embassy looks like your typical building from Greek ruins. All white, pillars to hold it up, giant stairs before you enter, statues of gods and goddesses everywhere for people to pray on. But that's not what he was here for. Of course little is actually known about the island to the public. They know only women and something about paganism and that the first and second (they think there are two) Wonder Women came from there. Most people don't even know that Washington DC has the only Themysciran Consulate in the world. The staff there is about 200 including Themysciran Consul Diana and her protégé Wonder Girl. Troia also used to live there back when I was Robin.

"Do you have video footage on the embassy?" I asked.

"Yes," Oracle responded. "So this lass-us-ra goo is bellow the dining room right. Well you have 100 super soldier amazons there and the offices outside that you have to go through."

"Lazarus," I correct. "Except I won't Wonder Woman will for me."

"Sureeee... and how will you get the Mad Hatter Equipment on her tiara."

"Simple I'm going to sneak into her room and replace it."

"Pervert," she declared. "I bet that's why you did this last time."

"Last time I was trying to get into Troia's bedroom," I corrected then instantly regretted. Just being around this place seems to activate the %^#!ing Lasso of Truth. At least she wasn't with me when I was Robin, then I'd be in for teasing rather than disgust.

"Oh so it is not Wonder Woman you want to jack to bu-," she said extremely aggressively.

"Can we focus on the mission?" I declared, really wanting this conversation to be over.

"Fine." She said still clearly mad about what I had said. "The only heroes in the DC area now are Captain Marvel and Captain Atom. They will be alerted as soon as Wonder Woman clears the embassy. How long do you think it will be before either of them call out for help?"

"Captain Marvel will try to handle on his own and Captain Atom would call in help immediately but I think his personal problems will lead him to try and prove himself."

"Good luck, hope your experiment works. Oracle out."

I got to work bringing a duffel bag that had the mutilated Savage in it (you would be surprised about how much I had to slice off). The laser sensors in the embassy's outside were the easiest to dodge. I could have gotten through this part when I was 8. But that isn't what scares off most would-be infiltrators. Now came the hard part.

Magic!

The magic based traps are a problem for me. I have absolutely no idea what any of these traps do. Turn me into a frog, light me on fire, castration? (Troia was too convincing when she threatened me like that, at least the first time). Luckily I still have a trusty N-th metal knife. Metal that can damage almost any magical force.

I use the knife to open the window. The knife gives out an blue burst of light as it cuts some sort of spell placed on the window lock.

So long as Dr. Fate was not here I should be able to get through this place undetected.

Though if he were to show up it would be an ideal test of the weapon I took from Vandal Savage. But the longer I can keep that a secret the less problems I'll have.

As I made it down the hallway I went past Troia's former room. Why did she leave? It was too late after I died for that to be it. I don't have time to wonder about a girl. I have a mission.

I opened the door with a paper clip, holding the nth metal to the lock, something I learned at 10 but couldn't add the anti-magic aspect till now. As I sneak in I saw that Wonder Woman was having a shower (I can never tell Donna or Oracle despite having a few walls between us). I placed the device on a fake Wonder Woman tiara I bought from a gift store across the street, though it looks like something Lynda Carter might have worn (Alfred made me watch the "Wonder Woman" 1975 series with him, only lasted one season), and left with the real one.

I made my way to the dining hall, keeping to the shadows on the floor above.

"Time to begin an international incident," I declare, throwing a grenade onto a dinner table.

* * *

 _Wonder Woman POV_

The ground below me shook violently, screams were not that far away from my ears, and the boom interrupted everything I was doing.

That explosion came out nowhere, especially since most villains would avoid rather than confront me.

Great Hera! I hope everybody is all right.

I heard the explosion and instantly got to work. Realizing that it came from the dining room she dashed there immediately.

There I saw dozens of villains. Cheetah, Circe, Ares, Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy, Luthor, Cheshire, and many more.

"So you all gave up and figured you're best show was one-on-one," I tell them, cracking some of my knuckles. "Bring it on!" I tell them.

"RRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR" Luthor grumbles at me while salivating.

I instantly got to work dispatching them. Cheetah was the first, our long adversarial relationship could only be matched by Clark and Lex Luthor and Bruce and Joker... well Clark and I never killed Luthor or Cheetah... so Bruce is still in a class of his own. After punching Cheetah through a wall, she goes down instantly. I would have gloated more if Circe was not about to cast a spell. I caught her in my lasso and threw her out the window.

Blockbuster and Grundy started to panic and go outside, but there was no way I was going to let them escape. But after going outside I could not believe what I saw.

Nazis.

NAZIS!

NAZIS!

The entire city is dominated by Nazi imagery.

This had to be a sick joke.

Yet when I looked into the air I saw him.

"It-It-It can't be," I say.

"Oh," he said in the German voice she knew. "But it can dear princess."

"Per Degaton," she yelled at him. "I vanquished you from this world twice and I will do it again!" I charge at him.

* * *

 _Captain Marvel POV_

"Per Degaton. I vanquished you from this world twice and I will do it again!"

I instantly looked around. I thought that we had vanquished Per Degaton after his attack a few years ago. But when I looked around there was nobody there. I was not the best history student, but any idiot will remember that the guy who led Hitler's superhuman army against the All-Star Squadron did not have invisibility. So we were not facing another invisible man (I will never live that incident down). Then something hit me from behind.

I looked back and only saw Wonder Woman. She then charged at me.

Whatever hit me must be behind me! I looked back again only to be hit from behind again.

It must be so fast that it can run circles around me literally. I check my back and see Wonder Woman's fist extending towards me.

MY GOD! It's about to hit me from behind!

My only hope to not be hit is for Wonder Woman to attack Per Degaton before he hits-

"[BHAM]"

Wonder Woman does land a hit...

...

... on my face.

It's Wonder Woman who is attacking me...

"You were vanquished by the All Star Squadron and the Justice League Per Degaton each once! But I am all that is necessary to stop you monster!"

Ok. SHE THINKS I AM A NAZI! That's quite insulting.

"[UHH]," Wonder woman punched me in the stomach. And then in my face. Then used her lasso to choke me.

"Ah...I...b...r...e-" I can't breathe.

I grab both her hands to restrain her, but she easily broke free, throwing me towards a building. I stop myself before the building, however another hit sends me through it, causing heavy damage. I laid on the rubble when I saw Wonder Woman charge at me from the air again.

I instantly bring my hands up to protect my face. As I prepare for the impact I hear something else get hit. Something hit Wonder Woman from the side throwing her out of my view.

"Need help kid," I recognized the voice immediately.

"CAPTAIN ATOM," I said in relief. "Didn't you want to-"

"This is an emergency-" he was cut off because Wonder Woman grabbed and dragged him against the side of a building.

"MASTERMAN!" I heard Wonder Woman yell. "I knew Per Degaton didn't come-," I threw her back into the Themysciran Embassy.

"Thanks kid!" It takes him a few seconds, but he process what he just heard. "Masterman? Per Degaton?"

"She thinks we are both Nazi super villains," I replied. "This is going to be painful." Then the world's most powerful heroine came at them again. Captain Atom tried to deflect but instead he was punched into me then both of us into a building. When we hit the ground I saw everybody looking us.

"Everybody get-" he tried to say before being interrupted by a screaming bystander.

"ITS CAPTAIN CANCER RUN," everybody started to panic out of the street. Well at least they are gone. Bad news, (some) people are all still afraid of Captain Atom.

We both saw Wonder Woman above, charging, and then dodged in opposite directions. Wonder Woman hit where we were, expanding the crater there.

"We are doomed aren't we," I ask Captain Atom.

"Probably," he replied as she came at us.

* * *

 _Arkham Knight POV_

Oracle sent me footage from local CC cameras in Washington DC.

"Oracle," I ask. "I'll be out of here in 15 minutes, but if Wonder Woman comes within 5 blocks of this building warn me."

"Why isn't she under your control?" she asks.

"NO! I'd never brainwash anyone!" I respond with more insecurity than I would like to let out. "There are going to be dozens of reporters covering the fight. And trying to move a unconscious person into a white van with no windows is going to attract attention."

"Isn't the Justice League going to run a full scale investigation and figure out that you were here anyways."

"They won't. They will look for Mad Hatter, then give up after a week," I say thinking about how they gave up on me.

"How would you-"

"I just do!" I respond forcefully.

"All right boss," she replied, with uncertainty.

Jumping into the hole in the floor, I saw a tunnel eschewed in darkness at the bottom. As walk down the hallway, using a light in my helmet to illuminate a path.

"urrrrrrrwwwwwrrrrr"

I hear Savage wrestle around in the bag. Parts of his tongue appear to have grown back. It doesn't feel like his arms or legs are back so I shouldn't expect any resistance till I see it.

As I look at the end of the tunnel I see a green glow emerge from the end of the tunnel. The closer I get the more obvious it appears.

A Lazarus Pit!

One of the few in the world not controlled by Ra's himself... and the only one I know about.

I opened the duffel bag and grabbed the mutilated Savage by the head. Missing all his limbs and with his tongue cut out, he wasn't a problem when I was sneaking into this place. Savage looked at me with interest before I threw him into the pit before his arms and legs could heal. Savage sunk in and some bubbles appeared before they stopped.

Did it not work?

...

...

...

Here we go. Savage appeared out of the pit grabbing for air.

"AHHHHHHHH," Savage screamed. He charged at me but I shot him with an electrified bullet. He went down instantly.

That was easy. "Oracle I'm done."

"Really," she said surprised. "Thought it would be harder."

"It will be soon."

"Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are still fighting aannnndddd they just crashed through the Enrean embassy."

"As in the one just a swimming pool away from here."

Her silence confirms.

"Well... when I am in the clear blow up the device."

"What?" she asked very surprised.

"Use the self destruct button," an awkward silence followed. "The self destruct device built to stop the device if it turns on me." After a long silence I turn off my communicator. "Good luck Billy."

I grab the unconscious savage and take him out of the embassy.

* * *

A Few Hours Later

 **LOCATION UNKNOWN**

 _Vandal Savage POV_

"[YAWN]"

That was a nice nap. Haven't felt the need to have one of those since the All-Star Squadron made it to Paris in the 1940s.

Now before I find who put me through that experience. I should find some answers to figure out how to best suit the punishment available for whoever attacked me.

What had happened? Where was he and why was he tied to the chains. He would love to have a talk with his torturer for a long, but he had to attend a Light meeting soon.

"Whoever you are, get this over with quickly?" I say in boredom. How many of these fools think that they can actually hurt me? "[YAWN]"

"Now why would I do that?" I look over to my right and see the Batman doppelganger emerging from the shadows. "You've lived so long. I want to give you an experience that honors your whole life as I end it."

"Oh you." I say with disappointment. I was expecting something better than a Batman wannabe. "Well get this over with?" I look over to see that my arms are back, before looking down to see my legs. They healed faster than usual.

"What you have something better to do?"

"Yes and I have lived for centuries. You think there is any torture that you can do to me that I do not know about."

"This." As he injected me with a syringe with some yellow liquid.

"HAHAHAHAHA no poison can work ..." Demons started to appear everywhere "...on me..." This had never happened before. "WWWHAT-What-What is this?!" I asked in fear.

"Your body used to be immortal. One Lazarus dump later and your Meta-Gene has been deactivated." He said victoriously to Savage.

"Bull$#!&! this is an illusion," Savage triumphantly declared but with a face filled with fear..

"Denial, huh... I can fix that," he then moved towards me, putting his knife to my throat. "You will tell me everything savage... oh I'm sorry," he stated mockingly. "Mr. Savage."

* * *

Three Days Later

 **HALL OF JUSTICE**

 _Green Arrow POV_

Well this was always going to be fun. Having to be explain to a room full of reports why the power houses of the Justice League held a WWE match in Washington DC. (Damn short straw!) To make matters worse we put off this conference for days just because nobody wanted to do it.

"Alright I'll take 5 more questions," I said. An hour of this has been more draining than a Parasite hug. Every reporter in the room instantly raised their hand. I don't know any of their names so I just point randomly to the front.

"Vicky Vale, Gotham Gazette. Why was Wonder Woman attacking innocent civilians as quote 'Nazis'?" Okay, already at Godwin's law, but that was expected.

"She has her tiara replaced with mind manipulating hardware that made her see anyone before have the appearance of an array of super villains and Nazis." I then pointed to a reporter on the side.

"Chase Lawler, Star Post. Why didn't the league respond faster to this fight? You had at least 5 hours to send more people." Why didn't you do more? That always the insulting question. Why didn't you do more to stop Wonder Woman? Why didn't you do more to prevent the fire from spreading? Why didn't you do more to prevent us from getting evicted? Why didn't you do more to prevent rats from getting into our food?! Why didn't you remember my birthday-

"Everybody who was available arrived as soon as possible. The fight took a long time due to the fact that we ended up fighting her one after the other, rather simultaneously due to difficulties fighting flight based super-humans, and the large battle radius." He pointed into the back.

"Cat Grant, Daily Planet. How do we know that you deployed everyone available? Or that you kept damage to a minimum? Would the League be willing to submit itself to an audit." Because we don't trust anyone to not spill our secrets.

"The League uses the best super-humans and methods available. Using these we have been able to save the world several times over. There are many people who are alive because of the League. We keep identities secret because of the publicity of how targeted we are so we cannot publicly disclose any to possibly audit. Yet many Americans are okay with that. Goodbye."

"You didn't answer my question," she said. Every other journalist started yelling questions at Green Arrow.

He headed down a hall into the library, which had been closed down today for civilians. There he saw Wonder Woman in the hallway.

"Sorry about having to make you go through that," she said.

"Somebody had to. Don't worry about it, at least you didn't give me the Captain Atom punch." He said mockingly before realizing that made her sad.

"I should have done this."

"No! You do not do well in a high pressure interview. Do you not remember the Lois Lane debacle?" They both laughed at that one.

"Ok... ha... Ok, fair point." She responded. "I could ditch the Lasso."

"Any leads yet on whose responsible for this." I shoot down the idea.

"No, but we found the area under the embassy to have collapsed."

"Collapsed? What was down there?"

"The security department from the Embassy wants to clear out the caves and check for themselves, but Bruce wants to be there while investigating."

"Bruce? Himself." It must take something scary to devote the attention of the Batman.

"He thinks the Mad Hatter is behind this."

"The mind control guy obsessed with Alice in Wonderland."

"Yep."

"Do we have any idea what Mad Hatter might want bellow your embassy?"

Diana simply shrugs.

I looked up and noticed something. "Why are you not wearing your tiara?" It was a staple of her costume, without it the whole thing looked off."

"Oh, I think who did this also took it."

"Why?" Not the part of the costume I would expect most people to steal.

"Who knows?"

"Well I'm sure-" as they walked into the library they saw someone in the chair "-it will show up?" I said realizing that the body in the center was wearing it.

Instantly the two of us recognized the body. It was Vandal Savage. Then we saw his blood on the wall with a message.

 **"THIS IS FOR BLUE BEETLE AND KID FLASH! R COMES NEXT!"** The R had a circle surrounding it to make Robin's emblem.

* * *

Four Hours Later

 _Nightwing POV_

Honestly being a full time member of the team or being a part-time assistant of the team doesn't seem to master since the last thing you ever expect to happen seems to always happen at the most inconvenient time.

Beast Boy gets captured by aliens who mistake him for his dog during my final exams.

A idiot calling himself the Master of Games teleported Red Arrow, Tempest, some other heroes and I to an fighting arena while I'm having a shower, forcing me to fight some fire based meta-human with only a towel.

The food supply of a fast food chain is really an alien replicating itself while I'm eating there.

And now an immortal's death cuts my (NOT A DATE) event out.

This one seems more like a paradox such as drowning in air. It should just not be possible. Yet here I am about to stare the impossible once again in the face.

I pulled off the white cloth covering his body and took out a device to scan Savage's body.

"Tell me everything," I asked. Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, and Superboy were there also examining the scene.

"We walked in and found him like this," Wonder Woman said. "Not much else we can say."

"Well he certainly was moved here," Nightwing declared. "Nails removed, major limbs broken in multiple spots, his eyes and ears were damaged by light-flashing and loud sounds, organs removed non-surgically. Scarecrow fear toxin?" that last one intrigues me. "He was tortured. Definitely could not do this in the Hall, the body was smuggled in, probably for the message." Everybody in the room shivered at my description of what happened.

"We also checked every single entrance into these rooms, whoever snuck in here and how they did it is still unknown at this point," Green Arrow said.

"Well there's an obvious question we're missing," Superboy adds.

"How do you kill an immortal?" Green Arrow asked. We all instinctively look to Wonder Woman.

"What are you looking at me for?" She asks.

"You are the one who fights Greek mythology. So wouldn't you know how to kill an immortal," Black Canary said.

"Well... I know a few ways but they are hardly related to our current situation."

"Which mean that we have one clue to who did this?" I say holding the Lazarus ash in my hand. I look up before saying. "Well two I guess."

 **"THIS IS FOR BLUE BEETLE AND KID FLASH! R COMES NEXT!"**

I take a long look at the message to think of the possibilities.

"Do you think this message is sincere?" Black Canary asked.

"Well somebody went through the effort of taking the blood out of Savage and painting the wall."

"So you think they are sincere?" Black Canary said quickly.

"They are sincere about making us think we are sincere."

"And what is the difference between that an actual sincerity?" Green Arrow asks.

I walk over to Vandal Savage's body. "One has the goal of killing the Joker.." we all think over what happened for a while, avoiding eye contact with each other. "...or just wants us to think he cares to throw us off."

"Why would somebody want us to think that they are trying to kill Joker?" Black Canary asked.

"Maybe he's back?" I suggest. All of us stare at each other as we ponder what that would mean after years.

"That still doesn't explain the message!" Superboy interjects. "Or how they knew about Blue Beetle, Kid Flash, and Robin." Nobody outside the League is supposed to know that there are successors to Blue Beetle, Kid Flash, and Robin.

"Maybe whoever killed Savage got information from him." The others look at me. "Savage would know about their fates."

"That answers how our assailant knew about their fates," Green Arrow says. "Hell, if the guy tortured him like you said, Savage might have said a lot more, but why would he paint this message in blood."

I take another look at the message.

 **"THIS IS FOR BLUE BEETLE AND KID FLASH! R COMES NEXT!"**

"I have a feeling we are going to find out the hard way," I tell them.

* * *

 **KORD ISLAND TOWER, LOS ANGELES**

 _Arkham Knight POV_

I had this building bought for me because I needed a base of operation. The only way onto this small island off the coast of LA is flying or through a Zeta-Tube I set up. Originally Kord enterprises built this facility to test aquatic equipment that was deemed too loud for any of their other research facilities. It was shut down when Ted died, but I set up an off the grid energy source to let me use the facility as a base. LexCorp supplied most of the security systems I have surrounding the island. They also made lots of the components in my equipment: micro-chips, metallic alloys, ect. I assemble the final product for everything myself. I have very picky custom features that I like. Only exception is the jet, that had to made in a secret base in Bialya.

"[RING] [RING]"

Another call from LexCorp's new CEO. I pick up immediately.

"Do you have another payday for me?" I ask. "I didn't expect one so soon."

"How good is your French?" Talia asks me.

"I'm taking Portuguese."

"Close enough. I want you to investigate L'hotel Des Rois in southern France."

"Because..."

"I think it's a HIVE base and I'll give you $400 million."

"$400 million. That's a lot more than you normally pay me."

"Why are you complaining?"

"Just observing that you must be really desperate to catch Damien Darhk."

"My father does not like keeping lose ends. Especially for nearly a century."

"Your father doesn't believe Damien Darhk is alive," I remind her and predictably greeted with tense silence.

"He's delusional." Talia... Insulting her father? Dang she must be scared about being replaced by Darhk.

"Darhk? Wasn't he your father's as the 'heir to the empire?' What does that-"

"My father!" Talia interjects, trying to hold back both anger and agreement. "My father is delusional when it comes to Damien Darhk!" WOW. Did not expect Talia to throw her father under the bus like that. "He's so sure of what he tried his best a century ago, but... he couldn't save him."

"What were they fighting over again?" I'm just fighting Darhk on Talia's behalf for the money, but it has gotten me curious about the real history of World War One.

"Probably nothing important."

"Your father never told you why he and your brother tore apart Europe in the 1910s." I would love to hear that bed time story.

"He... doesn't like to talk about it," she said sorrowfully.

"Ra's being emotional?" Hard to imagine.

"It's not what you would expect. Oh did you hear about the incident at the Hall of Justice." Obvious attempt to change the subject but I'll play along.

"You mean Savage's body." I tell her. She doesn't speak for a few seconds. Probably wondering whether I killed him myself or Oracle is just a good hacker. "Is it the real thing?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"The Shadows are investigating." She said bluntly. They haven't confirmed it yet? A few hours seems slow for the League of Shadows.

"Well... Tell me if there is an update." I turn off the communicator in my helmet.

I open the door to Oracle's computer room. She is surrounded by a bunch of computer equipment shaped in a sphere with all the monitors aiming at the spinney chair in the center.

"What is the Justice League saying?" I ask of my employee.

"Check for yourself," she tells me. She uploads several texts of interest to my wrist computer. I activate the hologram to check them out.

* * *

(8:15) Aqualad: Superboy are you sure the body was Vandal Savage's

(8:16) Superboy: It was visually perfect

(8:16) Superboy: At least compared to the pictures we compared it with.

(8:16) Aqualad: But looks can be deceiving

(8:17) Superboy: You saying its a fake?

(8:17) Aqualad: It sounds more realistic than an immortal dying

* * *

(9:28) Tigress: Any idea on how to kill an immortal?

(9:28) Zatanna: You asking for the savage investigation or did somebody piss you off

(9:29) Tigress: You don't need to know

(9:29) Zatanna: And why would you assume that I knew how to kill an immortal.

(9:29) Bumblebee: Cauz you know magic stuff girl

(9:29) Zatanna: There is more than one type of magic.

(9:29) Zatanna: Just to let you know!

(9:30) Tigress: We just expect you to know everything about magic.

(9:31) Zatanna: There is the Godkiller, but that was supposedly destroyed.

(9:31) Zatanna: The eye of Noruas that if it stares into anybodies eyes it drags their soul into the eye before sacrificing it

(9:32) Zatanna: And the bracelet of infidelity: If a god has an affair with somebody wearing it, they die

(9:32) Tigress: SERIOUSLY

(9:34) Bumblebee: I'm sure you passed AP Magic

(9:35) Tigress: That's a weird way to kill someone

(9:35) Bumblebee: All they have to do was not have an affair

(9:36) Bumblebee: Its not that hard.

(9:36) Zatanna: I made all three of those up.

(9:37) Zatanna: ...

(9:37) Zatanna: Noruas is Sauron spelled backwards.

(9:40) Zatanna: You guys are really gullible when it comes to magic.

* * *

(10:31) Superman: Any leads yet on the Vandal Savage case

(10:31) Nightwing: Batman is checking on the League of Shadows communications. But nothing so far

(10:32) Superman: Is he suggesting its the League of Shadows?

(10:32) Nightwing: No just that they would be the people who would clean up Savage's lose ends

(10:32) Superman: Is that Batman's theory?

(10:32) Nightwing: Its mine

(10:35) Superman: What's Batman's other theories?

(10:36) Nightwing: ...

(10:36) Nightwing: You stopped texting me to try texting him...

(10:36) Superman: Yeah.

(10:37) Nightwing: WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYY?

(10:38) Superman: Well...

(10:38) Superman: Because he's Batman.

(10:38) Nightwing: And I was trained by Batman!

(10:39) Nightwing: Shouldn't that make my opinion equal to his!

(10:54) Nightwing: WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME?

* * *

 _Arkham Knight POV_

"Ha," I get a little enjoyment from Nightwing being treated by Superman the same way he treated me: as an unhelpful annoyance.

"So they are confused about everything that happened," I say. "What about the Light? Are they any closer to figuring out that I killed him." Oracle took a second to mouth something before speaking.

"No," She said. "Bialyian and League of Shadows communications mention an ongoing investigation and to recover his possessions."

"Did Bialya send units across the border into Sudan?"

"No," she answers unsure, looking over the data on her computer. "No." she follows up more confidently.

"Then I'll look over their communications later."

"Why did you kill him?" she abruptly asked. She normally doesn't ask questions. Too afraid of what would happen if Damien Darkh found her to question me.

"Does it matter?"

"I want to know how to helps defeat HIVE."

"So you don't have to rely on my protection. It doesn't."

"Then what am I doing here!"

"You are here to work for me."

"I am here to end HIVE," she said with resolve.

"You are here because you worked for HIVE," I remind here. "And now they want to kill you." She bitterly held back after that last reminded.

"Why did you kill him?"

"It has nothing-"

"I want to know why I assisted to murder," she interrupted.

"It's not murder if he has a dead or alive bounty." Though it's from the 17th century. "But I've been looking for Savage for months hoping to steal something from him."

"What?"

"A weapon. One that would let me destroy a leader of the Justice Leauge."

"A single weapon will let you destroy the Justice League?"

"With proper planning."

"What do you have against the Justice League?" she asked me. "And why do you want to murder this person."

"I don't plan to murder them- No I'd go even further I want them alive right now." She looks at me puzzled. "Only when I have taken everything they hold dear and shatter the dreams that keep them together, then they have my permission to die." Unlike Tula.

Well... its not against the entire League. Just those that betrayed me.

"Don't you have school tomorrow?" I ask her.

"Huh," she looks at the time. 12:41. "7 am classes," she mumbles as she shuts down her computer. "Worst idea ever," she mumbles that as she leaves the room.

"Night Felicity," I tell her on the way out. She's a nice girl, sad she got dragged into this life.

As she leaves the room. I take off my helmet, needing to air it out before it smells of sweat. Savage damaged it during my fight with him. I can only fix it here, and Felicity doesn't know my identity, so I have to wait for her to leave. As my trusted employee, I tell her about the Justice League and the Light. But I'd rather not let her know that I was Robin the Boy Wonder, or her classmate Jason, or about the Red Hood. After all she worked for HIVE once, and even though they have wanted to kill her ever since she turned, there is no guarantee that she won't turn on me.

Before I start preparing for the France mission I check one more group of text messages.

* * *

(11:20) Dick Grayson: Sorry our dinner got canceled

(11:22) Artemis Crock: It's ok, Savage's death is a bid development.

(11:22) Dick Grayson: No work on this chat. PLEASE!

(11:22) Artemis Crock: There were other people at the soup kitchen I could talk to.

(11:22) Dick Grayson: Did you make heaping piles of everything again?

(11:23) Artemis Crock: Yeah Wally's favorite.

(11:24) Dick Grayson: I remember when the three of us would eat.

(11:25) Artemis Crock: It was four more often than not.

(11:25) Artemis Crock: Dog.

(11:26) Dick Grayson: How could I forget Brucely?! I feel like such an idiot.

(11:27) Artemis Crock: We could meet for lunch tomorrow? I have some leftovers in the fridge.

* * *

I remember Wally telling me this would never happen.

* * *

 **I think I'm going to alternate flashback story (not necessarily always Jason's) and present story as format, so next chapter will go back to the flashbacks.**

 **Differences between this and my original story:**

 **Vandal Savage's killer clearly stole something.**

 **The Justice League doesn't know about the Lazarus Pit bellow the Themysciran Embassy.**

 **Felicity does not know about Jason's past or even his identity Their relationship is also a lot more transactional.**

 **Please Comment.**


	4. Flashback: Brotherly Love

**So I decided to update this with a chapter before this one. Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently from now on.**

* * *

Flashback: Ten Minutes Later

 **THE WATCHTOWER**

 _Robin POV_

"Plug in that last wire Plaz," Blue Beetle tells him.

"Inserted," Plastic Man says with a thumbs inflating like a balloon as he brings his body back together. Blue Beetle gives a look at me before activating the computer.

"3. 2. 1!"

The ceiling lights start activating. Then the computers boot-up. Finally the doors all retreat up. Meaning no more flashlight and no more walking through holes in the walls.

"I can connect to the Watchtower's computers," I tell him.

"Great!" Rocket tells me. "Now can you send a message to the rest of the Justice League."

"No, damn it! Our signal is being externally jammed!" Blue Beetle says.

"It's not just that," I add. "We're over the Southern Atlantic."

"And that means…" Plastic Man and Rocket asks.

"Even if we can contact the League-" Blue Beetle explained while holding onto his wound. "-it's the longest possible journey to get here."

"At least a thousand miles into space and another thousand from Buenos Aires. At top speed we're looking at four hours before some help and even if we get to a favorable spot for the Bio-ship that's six hours," I guess.

"We are probably way more than a thousand miles in space," Blue Beetle adds pessimistically.

"But with power restored can we Zeta," Tempest asks.

"That might not be the problem with Zeta tubes," I ominously warn. Pulling up camera footage of the Watchtower's Zeta-tubes they could tell why. Each of them had their key components pulled out and neatly arranged before the Zeta-tube in rows and columns alphabetically, as if daring us to come and fix the machines.

"So were trapped in here with Deathstroke," Plastic Man pointed out.

"Deathstroke's son," Rocket corrects.

"HIS SON," Plastic Man and Blue Beetle were shocked, despite me telling them that earlier.

"Ravager," I explain. "Did you think it was-"

"-him in a new costume," Blue Beetle added. "Yeah."

"How do ya know him?" Rocket asks me.

"He's kind of the closest thing I have to an arch-nemesis at this point," I tell.

"You have an arch-nemisis!?" Plastic Man exclaimed. I give a convincing smirk. "You're 15 and I don't even have one!" he complained. I'm 14, but height can be confusing.

"Do you mind telling us everything you can?" Blue Beetle asks. I pull up a hologram of him to start telling the story.

"Grant Wilson aka Ravager is the only child of Slade Wilson and Adeline Kane."

"Are they still married?" Plastic Man asked.

"They divorced after he had an affair that resulted in Slade's second child," I try to quickly take Rose out of this story. "Grant was unaware of his father's mercenary activities, until he and Slade's third child were kidnapped by a criminal group that Slade had a contract against. Slade and his ex-wives killed most of the kidnappers-" Everyone seemed to have a question. "His two ex-wives were ex-Australian Army," I clarify. "Real mother bears because Slade killed the least out of them. The last guy attempted to use the third child as a hostage, but Slade didn't negotiate and killed him, but not before the third child's throat was slit. He survived but can't speak." They all looked as though I just told a horror story.

"I feel bad for him," Plastic Man said.

"Well his ex-wives didn't, because the two of them attempted to kill him for endangering their children. As you can tell they didn't succeed, but that's how he lost his eye."

"That's how it happened?!" Ted reacted in revelation.

"That's how it happened. Now Grant was more sympathetic to his father, sought out the League of Shadows, and trained until he could join his father's business, where he and I have clashed multiple times."

"What did you clash over?"

"Well…" How much should I tell them? "The first time he tried to kill Bruce Wayne and I was in the area," Bruce was surrounded by too many people to disappear, so I had to deal with it alone. "The second time he tried to kidnap someone." That someone being his own sister, but I'm not allowed to talk about that. "Then we had a few skirmishes, the most noticeable one was when he tried to frame me for murder." Rocket, Blue Beetle, and Plastic Man looked at each other to ask with their eyes if any of them heard about this. "That ended with him being sent to Belle Reve, but he escaped during transport."

"Think he's here for a rematch?" Rocket asks.

"Nah, there's no way he could have broken onto this place without help. Hacking and spaceship engineering aren't his expertise. Somebody paid and armed him to come here."

"Any idea who?" Blue Beetle asks.

 **"BEEP"**

"No." I say softly while my computer's alert goes off.

"What is it?" Plastic Man asks. Rather than answer his question in words I pull up the security camera footage.

Billy, Mary, Freddy, Tula, Garth, Zatanna, Mal, Karen, Donna, John Stewart, and Black Canary were all laid out in front of a table, side by side. The most concerning thing was the bleeding from Donna, Mal, and Stewart, with a trail of blood going off screen, and their costumes turning visibly red.

"Why couldn't we see this earlier?" Blue Beetle asks.

"Many of the cameras have been disconnected," I tell them. "This one was just reconnected."

"Why?"

"[WUMPTH]" Some of the metallic doors retract up.

"To lure us out." We all stare down the obvious trap with determination, with the open doors trap so ominous. It's clear that the only path left goes through Ravager.

"Great Plaz, Rocket, and I will confront Ravager. Ted-"

"Don't think I'm letting you-" Ted tried to say while standing up. He had to hold the wound he got from Ravager earlier.

"Ya sure?" Rocket asks while holding him up.

"Yeah I can totally-totally-totally handle it."

"No you can't," I tell him.

"You don't know anything kid."

"I know more than you about Ravager."

"Besides that."

"You should probably listen to the kid, Ted," Plastic Man supports.

"I've dealt with worse," he defended.

"That doesn't mean you'll be useful." Rocket shoots me a look about my harsh assessment. "We need you to send a signal out ASAP."

"I can… can…" He's taking some very long pauses.

"Ted," Plastic Man asked in concern.

"…can-" Rocket begins to lose her balance as Blue Beetle loses consciousness.

"TED!" I pull out my computer to scan him.

"He's lost a lot of blood," I tell them. "I don't know how much longer he's got."

"What are our options?" I walk towards one of the unopened doors that should lead to a medical station.

"Can you slide under these metallic doors?" I ask Plastic Man.

"Nope, airtight seat."

"And Garth was the only one of us who could cut through it."

The three of us stare into each other's eyes before simply nodding. We lay Ted down near the computer after changing his bandages, before running into the hallway.

"Does this guy have any powers?" Rocket asks.

"No, but in case you can't tell, that won't really stop him," I reply.

"Is there any particular trick you can think of," Plastic Man asks.

"Smoke grenades, blue sword that can cut through anything, two Uzis, but he's replaced them with a cold gun before, particularly against super-humans."

"Did he fight other super-heroes?" Rocket asked.

"No, but he killed at least five escapees from Belle Reve. Maybe eight more, but Bats and I can't 'legally' confirm that." Rocket and Plaz don't seem as phased as they should be. The two of them probably think he's only gotten this far because of stealth, and that open combat should favor them.

The three of us stop moving when we see our unconscious friends, each tied to a chair, with an empty chair in the middle of them. Plastic Man and Rocket attempt to run towards them, but a familiar voice distracts them.

"Well it's good to see you brought help Robin," Ravager walked out of the shadows. "I needed a warm up." I instinctively threw an explosive batarang at him, which clung to his armor. I explodes in his hand, creating a black cloud that none of us can see a shadow through.

"Is he down?" Rocket asks. "Was it that easy?"

"No," Ravager walks out of the cloud as if nothing happened. Rocket puts up a barrier around him that should trap him- "No it isn't." Ravager raised one of his legs and slammed it against the ground.

"[CRACK]" A spider crack formed on the ground before it collapsed entirely.

"Bye Bye," Ravager mocked as he fell into the hole he created. The three of us try to process what just happened.

"Was that-" Plastic Man tried to ask.

"Super strength and invulnerability," I answer.

"Didn't ya say he has no powers?" Rocket asked.

"He shouldn't have any."

"[CRACK]" Another sound comes from the hole Ravager created earlier, but nothing appears to be broken.

"[CRACK]" What is he doing down there?

"[CRACK]" That's not coming from the hole its coming from the ground!

"Is that sound getting closer?" Plastic Man asks.

"[CRACK]"

"He's under us," I tell them-

"[CRACK]" That one broke the floor perfectly between the three of us, allowing Ravager to explode from the ground. Plastic Man and I don't go far because Rocket kept her shield up. The only problem. Ravager was already in her shield with us, allowing Ravager to hold her by the neck.

He then beat her face first into her own shield, clearly breaking a nose. The collapsing shield tells me she's unconscious. Plastic Man was the first to jump at Ravager. Ravager responded by throwing Rocket into Plastic Man, who formed a net to catch her. I throw another batarang, piercing his costume, but it fell off him with the batarang dented!

"Don't worry, you knew it wouldn't do anything," Ravager mocked me. Well at least I can throw more explosives at him without worry. The two of us engage in an intense staring contest, interrupted by Plastic Man engulfing him. The sight looked like a guy hiding bellow a bed sheet. Normally this would be okay because Plastic Man's skin can't be cut through without a magic sword. The only problem is that Deathstroke gave him a magic sword for his birthday. A problem I had warned Plastic Man about earlier!

"Plastic Man let go of him before he tears you in two!" I fanatically try to warn him

"Relax I can take-"

Ravager jumped into the air, like two stories in the air high, while being contained by Plastic Man, stretching him out from his stomach causing him to look like a con-

"He's stretched me too much," Plastic Man moaned out.

"That's what she said." That was too easy.

"AHHHH" Plastic Man screamed-non-erotically-from the part of him that has been stretched bleeding.

Ravager then emerges from the part of Plastic Man that he cut with his sword, the white cowl turned fully red and the orange and black parts now shaded red.

"I wanted to bathe in Robin's blood," Ravager tells somebody else—referencing me in third person means he's talking to somebody else. His father? His employer? "I guess I'll just have to wear his skin."

"That's not cool that's just weird," I tell him. "Do you have a fetish or some-"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAA-" It's normally harder to get under his skin, or maybe I did hit a very sensitive spot. "How about a one-on-one sword fight?" I would pull a sword out of my utility belt, if I didn't already know about his blue magic sword.

The sword first came on Batman's radar during an incident in Vietnam before I was Robin. Apparently, this sword could cut Superboy but it disappeared shortly after it was first seen. That was until Deathstroke and Ravager were hired to kill Brick of all people. Batman and I confronted them, challenging the respective mentor-protégé, and I was surprised to see Ravager cut a hole so easily through a Titanium door. When I told Batman about it, he made the connection.

I grapple up, leaving an explosive Batarang on the ground. Once Ravager gets to where I was, he started holding the sword as though it was a throwing axe. The Batarang explodes, shaking his balance.

The explosive Batarang threw his aim off, causing the sword to miss me by quite a bit and be stuck twenty feet above me on a wall. I use my grapple and attempt to reach the sword before he can.

Ravager jumped off the ground with super-strength some 20 feet in the air. Luckily, I reached the sword before he did, but Ravager angled himself perfectly to hit me in just a few seconds. Luckily for me, my extra weight had allowed the sword to cut through the wall downwards with me on it. I just barely miss Ravager, whose Hand went through the wall, keeping him suspended far above the ground. I take the time to pull the sword out of the wall and move out from under Ravager, trying to get distance.

Once Ravager falls back to the ground, he looks at the sword in my hand before charging at me. I undercut him with the sword slashing his torso.

"AHHHH-" he screamed in surprising pain. "HOW DID HE DO THAT?!" he asked me.

"A sword that can cut through anything idiot," I tell him condescendingly while pointing to his blue magic sword.

"GRRRRRR-" Did he just growl at me? I hold my hands up innocently.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you brought me something to kick your #$$ with, but I didn't expect you to be so growl at me." He then charges at me with the technique that allowed me to cut him earlier. Quite unusual for both experienced and inexperienced fighters.

"Your right I don't need the sword to kick his #$$."

"Dude can you cut it out with your invisible friend!" I ask him.

"SHUT UP!" Ravager pulls out his Uzi and starts shooting at the door behind him. Da $#%! is he shooting at?

He responds by grabbing a 15 ft by 15ft metallic container and throws it, this time aiming at me. I casually hop to the right before jumping on top of the container, pulling out a taser in one hand. Ravager then runs at me with super-strength, not even bothering to dodge the taser I've shot at him.

"[ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ]" Ravager clings to the side of the container, not even looking at the taser.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH," Ravager screams, but can climb up slowly.

"I don't need your help!" he yelled behind him. That's it I want to see who he's talking. He grabs my taser and pulls me towards him. I cut the lines with the sword an perform a flip over his back and pull out his cowl. I rubbed my hand against his left ear to look for a non-existent ear piece.

Ravager turns around allowing me to look at his- HOLY $#%! What happened to his face?! Grant's Wilson eyes were so red that I have to describe them as red and blue rather than blue and white, the sweat off of him could easily drown off someone, his dumb-blonde hair turned so white that would be jealous, and veins popped out of he sides of his cheeks like acne, while having lost any tan he might have had from the Australian sun. As he turns around, I can look at the right side of his face and- And there is no communicator.

"You never wanted to face me huh!" he yelled at me.

"No I wanted to-" before I can insult him he cuts me off.

"It was never his fault! It was yours, you led them to Joseph!" His younger brother?

"I've never met him what are you talking-"

"YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED THEM!" Grant then pointed VERY far to the left of me. I look over in the general direction and can't see anything. "I should have stopped them! I had to protect my little brother, who neither of you know $#!% about!" He doesn't have a communicator and he wouldn't talk telepathically out loud.

"Who are you talking to?" I ask him. Is he delusional now? Grant flops against the floor like an NBA player. He tries to get up, only to slip and end up on the floor again.

"Alright Dwayne Wade, take your mime act-"

The back of his head slammed so hard into the ground a crater was created, with red coating to color it.

"Grant?" I ask in concern.

"You think-[COUGH]-that I'm gonna scream for mommy-[COUGH]-because of this?" He continued to look away from me as he said that. "Bit-"

His head hit the ground again. At this point I feel curious enough to throw a bunch of Batarags above him just to make sure that there is no invisible person. As I suspected, there isn't an invisible person and start asking questions.

"Grant what the f-"

"[SLAM]"

"-are you doing?!" He has to be crazy, only reasonable explanation. Sure, other villains would try to get me to pity them because they know Dick would fall for it, but Grant knows I'm not an idiot. He knows I would never fall for this $#*!.

"ITS ALL YOUR FAULT MOM!" Grant yelled into the abyss. He was able to get up and swing his sword against the air. "Joe would still be able to speak if you didn't #%^!ing try to kill dad!" Is he hallucinating- "You gave them everything they needed to find us! They might have come for us because of dad, but he would have- [DEEP BREATH] HE WOULD HAVE- [DEEP BREATH]- he would have-" Grant starts clutching his chest and kneels on the ground. "-he would have-"

Ravager falls over.

"Grant?" I ask.

"Ulllmmlmm-" he manages to moan out of him mouth.

"GRANT!" I rush over to help the struggling assassin.

* * *

Five Hours Later

"OW ow ow-" I look over briefly to see that Donna is finally coming through. Ravager had lightly stabbed her at some point, she didn't lose too much blood, but it still probably hurt to move at all. Add in the headaches that typically come after taking in knockout gas I should be a little gentle when pushing her to help.

"DONNA PLEASE GET THE #^%! OVER HERE!" I said please.

"Wha-OW OW OW," Donna complained, which is easy to do when you're the one who has an excuse to lay on the ground while I have to deal with two dying patients, as she stood up and looked over.

"QUIT WHINING AND GIVE TED MORE BLOOD!" She walks, unbalancedy towards the three makeshift medical systems: one for Blue Beetle, Ravager, and Mal.

"What do you need me to do?" Donna asks.

"Pump." She looks over to see a emergency medical device with manual pumps connected to Mal and Beetle.

"Does Mal know that you're taking his blood?" Donna asks.

"No he hasn't woken up yet."

"Is that ethical?"

"IT'S ETHICAL AS #^%&!" I end the debate-

"Are you sure-"

"ITS ETHICAL AS #^%&!" I get back to trying to stabilize Grant's breathing while Donna replaces Blue Beetle's blood pack.

"What happened to Blue Beetle?!" She asked, shocked at the full extent of his injures.

"Stabbed with a sword."

"That's obvious, but by who?"

"Ravager."

"Who?"

"THE GUY I'M TRYING TO SAVE HERE!" I yell in frustration. She looks condescendingly at the weakening Ravager.

"He doesn't look injured."

"You can't really see a heart attack." And I have no idea how to treat one. I've spent two hours alternating between trying to fix a Zeta-Tube and performing medical tests/surgery way beyond my level of understanding. Add in the problem of Plastic Man's body, which begs the question of what happens to a body-

"Whats wrong with him?" Troia asks me.

"I think has to do with the Mirakuru."

"Do you expect me to know what that is?" she asks me as she tries to move Mal from the blood donor.

"You're blood's not compatible so don't even try," I stop her quickly. "Its a steroid created by Imperial Japanese scientists during World War II. Ended up becoming the basis for Bane's venom after he found the formula on some Pacific Island where they tested subjects."

"And I'm assuming the human body is not meant to take this type of drug," she deduced, sitting down and pumping the device.

"Don't do drugs," I suggest.

 **"BEEP BEEP BEEP"** The heart rate monitor alternates very fast.

"Whats happening?" Donna asks me.

"His heart is weakening," I guess.

"Why?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I yell powerlessly.

"Try giving him the drug," Black Canary suggests, slowly standing up as she also wakes up.

"Do steroids help the heart?" I ask her sarcastically.

"He might be suffering from Drug Withdrawal," Black Canary clarifies. "You said this was based off of Bane's venom."

"Bane's venom was based off of it," I clarified.

"Well some of Bane's initial test subjects suffered from Withdrawal after the initial tests."

"So you want me to help him relapse," I respond critically.

"Can you get him to a proper hospital?" Black Canary responds. I look down at the dying Ravager.

 **"BEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP"**

"FINE," I reluctantly agree. I take some of the Mirakuru from Ravager's costume and place half a dosage into a syringe. "Here goes nothing." The three of us watch as I inject the syringe into his arm, administering the steroid at cautiously slow speed.

 **"BEEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEP BEEP BEEP"** His heart rate is stabilizing.

"There we-" Black Canary talks, but I'm focused on Ravager. Mainly because his eye just opened. "-go." Black Canary finished congratulating herself on saving Ravager. In fact she did such a good job that Ravager is reaching out with both his hands to try and kill me-

"G- Grant..." I manage to slip through my breath as Ravager choked me. I see Troia's hands seperate Ravager's from my neck. I fall to the ground breathing quickly to make up for lost air.

"Little help here," Troia asks. She had restrained Grant, but he was trying to break out of her grip. I reach for the morphine syringe I set aside earlier, incase this happened. I conformable and quickly inject Ravager with it. Ravager still struggles towards it.

"Is it working?" Troia asks struggling to control him. Ravager weakens, slowly, before collapsing completely back onto his bed. "Did it work?"

"Probably," I respond.

"Probably?" Troia asks critically.

"I'll up the morphine dosage," I move to the computer to modify the dosage.

"TED!" I look up to see Atom and Red Tornado have made it to the Watchtower.

"Did GL finally get the Zeta tube up and running?" I ask. If not and these guys flew here, then I'm taking a nap. I've been up for 22 hours at this point. Even Batman clocks out at 21.

"You had John rebuild the Zeta-Tube rather than fly to earth?" Black canary asked.

"His ring ran out of charge and isn't iPhone compatible."

"Is there not a lantern ring battery here?" Troia asks.

"You would think former Green Lantern base would have one, but apparently not."

"Of course we came by Zeta, but are none of you concerned about Ted!" Atom yelled, trying to change the tone of the room.

"Vitals show stable body structure," Red Tornado explained.

"See Dr. Robin deserves 5 stars," Troia told them. "Besides we could just Zeta him."

"I don't think you can rate doctors like an amazon."

"Listen I know you want to marry a doctor-" Ted implies that Donna and I are dating.

* * *

One Minute Later

"YOU STABBED ME!" Atom yelled surprised, holding my bloody batrang in my hand.

"You started it," Troia and I tell him. "Don't suggest we're a couple." We say as we point to each other before looking at one another, regretting using the same words because of Black Canary's amusement.

"You let him stab me!" Atom complained to Red Tornado.

"He did warn you, so it seemed like your problem," Red Tornado responded.

"SO you let him STAB ME!"

"It seemed like your problem." After Red Tornado disregarded him, the Atom merely reached out to Black Canary.

"You know how sensitive they are about their relationship," Black Canary responds. Troia pulls out her sword as the two of us give her a death stare. Black Canary puts her hands up to signal surrender. "I never said what the relationship status was."

"You dealt with Atom, I'll deal with her." Donna told me as she walked, sword in hand towards Canary. Canary starts to walk backwards.

"Donna lets-"

 **"BEEP"** Batman? Oh yeah communications would be necessary for Zeta transport. Wonder what he's calling about.

"Yo Boss I-"

 **"[BOOOOOM]"**

"Was that a tank shell?" I ask.

"ROBIN!" he responded angrily. "I've been trying to contact you for an hour!"

"[BOOOM]" that smaller explosion was an explosive Batarang.

"I need aerial support."

 **"[BOOOOOM]"**

"NOW!"

"On-" I watch Donna swing at Black Canary, who jumps over her to avoid being cut in two. "-it." The two women engage in a sparing practice that would be common in the cave, if Donna wasn't aiming for decapitation of course.

"Boss called," I tell Red Tornado and Atom. "I gotta go."

"You stabbed me and you're just going to leave!"

* * *

Two Days Later

 **Gotham Academy**

 _Jason Todd POV_

"[RING] [RING] [RING]"

"Alright class dismissed," Mrs. Vale said. "But don't forget your essays are due on Monday and don't think you can do it in a single day."

"[YAWN]" Why didn't I just sleep in the Batmobile on the drive back? If it was class instead of lunch right now, I would probably just take a nap on my desk. But my food deprived body steps out and walks towards the cafeteria.

"Jason!" I hear my name called out and look back.

"Rose," I call back to her. She runs up to me and walks with me towards the cafeteria. I should probably tell her about what happened… Though as Robin and not Jason Todd.

"You look tired," she tells me. "Hope whatever kept you up last night was fun," she says suggestively.

"[Sigh] It wasn't that type of fun." I complain.

"Then why would you sacrifice sleep?"

"I had no idea what I was getting into."

The two of us walk up to the food in the cafeteria and pick up food. We then find a table to sit at for just the two of us near the window, with the Bialya and China soccer match going on behind me.

"So why didn't you come to my gymnastics competition?" Rose asked me.

"Sorry, I got in-between Dick and his ex," I respond.

"Again?" she asked amused.

"Again!" I smile.

"Is the story as good as the Dawn Granger incident?" Rose chuckled at the memories of the incident, and I do too.

"It was kind of the opposite now that I think about it."

"So it's not going to make national news?"

"Sadly no" Rose continues to eat but makes it clear that I'm more interesting. "So, he got back together with his ex-" Rose gets very excited.

"The legendary-"

"No, she's never been in Gotham Prep. After getting back together with her-I kid you not this actually happened." Now she puts down her food. "She's walking with Artemis-"

"Crock?"

"Crock. And the two of them are on top of a building, looking out at the city, and literally the on top of the building next to them they can watch Dick raw-dog a chick for the whole world to see."

"[PTOOEY]" She spits the food in her mouth into her hand as she laughs.

"A #!^%, or the Dick?" she asks me.

"THE Dick Grayson," I tell her. Immediately, Rose knows there's more to this story. "She tried to throw a bottle at him."

"That's awfully convenient that they happened to have front row seats to watch Dick Grayson #^!%..." she wants me to finish.

"Catalina Flores."

"Should I know her?"

"Not really, but it is very convenient that I called Artemis and his girlfriend to that building." The two of us enjoy my brilliance.

"You should really become a detective and figure out the connection between what you and Dick did." I wish I had that idea. "What did your guys dad say?"

"Bruce?" Rose nodded. "I haven't talked to him about it."

"What did he say last time?" Rose reminisces. Bruce's nationally televised speech after the Dawn Granger incident threw Dick under the bus because he feared something like this would happen. "My child does not appear to understand that good relationship management and seductiveness are not connected."

"In this case they were in conflict." The two of laugh at Dick's stupidity. "I bey your siblings are nicer." Oh $#!% Jason Todd isn't supposed to know about them. She's talked to Robin about her siblings NOT Jason Todd.

"I don't spend much time with-" she spoke dazed, more focused on the fact that she has siblings than that I know about them. "I don't remember telling you about-"

"Your mom mentioned them." I think that will make her less suspicious. "A younger half-brother?" Remind her of the good one.

"And an older one." $#!% now she's thinking of the bad one.

"Through your dad right?" I already know the answer to that question, but the more she tells Jason Todd, the less I have to keep pretending that I don't know things she told Robin.

"Yes-" Her teeth shredded each other as the anger she's holding in tries to escape. "-through him." She told me with absolute disgust at that last word.

Rose's has met her father sporadically, each of which he or her older brother kidnapped her at gun point. Yeah very good way to start a relationship. Add in what happened to her younger brother, the guilt of being a child of a criminal, and Deathstroke's weird version of fatherly-love (camping without supplies in the amazon, racing against a lion, live firearms training, ect.), is it really any wonder that she hates him.

However, that same hate makes conversation with her uncomfortable, if not dangerous (as four pencil marks in my arm will attest). I don't want to leave her alone, since I'll have to talk to her as Robin about Grant later and I'd rather not feel guilty about this conversation-

"[SLAM]" Exactly the Dick I needed to insert into this situation.

"Jason we need to talk-"

"Is this about the spider?" I ask hoping to direct the conversation.

"The spider- First of all she went by Tarantula and stop talking about that-"

"What about how you risked getting hypothermia through your #*#% and made Z-"

Rose drops the food she is holding in her hand and starts laughing, making clear I told her. Dick's face has a red light shone on it that he tries to get away from by hiding his face.

"I don't get why I bother with you," Dick storms off at the mockery of two lower class men.

"What's do you think is the worst think you've done to your older brother?" Rose asks me as he walks away.

"Hmmmmm. I ruined at least two of his relationships because of things that were his fault, I convinced the school he's child dangling sociopath, and I..." I try to continue saying stuff, but give up when it seems as though she isn't paying attention.

She looks at me, but it seems as though she is not looking at me.

I look at her eyes and realize that she is looking beyond me, behind me. I turn around to see if anyone she recognized was here. She looked like that time her father showed up at Gotham Prep last year.

I turn around and only saw other students. It didn't seem like anyone suspicious was here. The other students, they were looking at the soccer match? What could possibly be so interesting about a-

I stared at the screen as the violence unfolded.

When I started staring there were clearly at least 3 explosions. There was a spray of bullets unleashed upon the specters. Just looking at the TV I could see everybody in stands had someone's blood over them.

"oh god... OH GOD... **PLEASE GOD...** " somebody turned up the TV volume. " **PLEASE PLE-** "

"[BANG]" a gun went off, blood spilled over the camera, and then it fell over.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," screams could still be heard from the TV but over a blood red screen.

Somebody started wiping out the blood off the camera.

My eyes widened as I saw who appear on the camera.

"[Unknown Arabic]" Ravager yelled while pointing a gun into the—THE %#$^! HE ESCAPED.

My Arabic is rusty but I remember a similar phrase used by a Bialyian terror cell Bruce told me about. It roughly translated to "Down with the Monarchy!"

"[BANG]" and the screen went out.

I reflexively turned around to look at Rose, but realize that she's currently running off. I debate internally whether or not to go after her, and if I do should it be as Jason or Robin.

However, she makes it into the women's bathroom before I can decide, effectively eliminating all but one of my options.

* * *

Twenty Minutes Later

 **Mount Justice**

 _Robin POV_

"What the #^!% happened!?" I yelled at Captain Atom and Tula. The two of them were engaging in low level training. Captain Atom appears to have been caught off-guard, both by my swearing, and the sweep Tula just performed on him. The guy went crashing to the ground.

"Robin!" Tula said. "Don't you have school?"

"Irrelevant!" I say dismissively. "You know why I'm here."

"So you heard about Ravager's escape," Captain Obvious- I mean Atom stated. "Don't worry we're looking throughout Louisiana for him."

"Louisiana. What the #^%! are you looking for in Louisiana? Is there a Louisiana, Bialya that I'm unaware of or can you idiots just not look at a map?" Captain Atom was about to tell me not to swear, but gave up mid thought.

"Bialya, what would Ravager be doing-"

"Pull up the news." I order them. The two of them quickly scroll through the news.

"When did he get out?" I ask Captain Atom. The two of them look embarrassed at each other.

"About five hours after you left," Tula eventually admitted.

"What the fu- How did you lose him so fast?! That incompetence is incredible. I know the most dangerous part of getting people into Belle Reve is transporting them, but five hours! That has to be some sort of record-"

"We get it!" Tula and Captain Atom both told me, annoyed that the child was giving them the lecture about their incompetence.

"John Stewart and M'gann were taking him to Belle Reve via New Orleans, and somebody managed to get the drop on them," Tula explained.

"Then he took a magical tunnel from Louisiana to Eastern Africa?" I add sarcastically. Captain Atom opens his mouth slightly but retracts instantly.

 **"BEEP"** Batman appears on a new holo-screen.

"Atom, Tula assemble two investigative teams," Batman commands the two.

"Batman do you have any idea who Ravager was working for?" I ask him.

"Robin shouldn't you be in- Nevermind that's irrelevant," Batman's words cause Tula and Captain Atom to raise their eyebrows. "Robin, you're close to his sister. Check any leads she can give you."

"On it boss," I reply. "Do you have any idea who he's working for yet?"

"French, British, and Ethiopian intelligence are putting the blame on the BRA."

"That what?" Tula asked.

"Bialyan Republican Army. Main anti-Monarchy group in Bialya since the Cold War. Qurac founded the group when hostilities spiked in the 1970s," I explained.

"Why do they hate each other?" Tula asked.

"Water resource conflict, ideological gaps, and Qurac's landlocked status add up to tension," Captain Atom explains.

"You were stationed in Bialya back when they were pro-West during the 60s right?" I ask Captain Atom. I know he was in the marines for a while before he became Captain Atom during the Vietnam War

"No I was stationed in Ethiopia, but the royal houses were close back then. Ended up training with members of the Bialyan Army back then."

"That was 50 years ago." Tula added.

"Don't remind me," Captain Atom joked.

"Atom," Batman called him to attention. "I just got word from Steve Trevor, he wants you to be the liaison between the American and Bialyan forces in this investigation."

"On it!" Captain Atom answered quickly.

"You seem enthusiastic?" I ask puzzled.

"I want to lead the investigation. That's all."

"Tula assemble Aqualad, Miss Martian, Sergeant Marvel, and Kid Flash to investigate," Batman instructed her. "Robin and Captain Marvel get to work."

"On it boss!" I respond.

* * *

Hours Later

 **THE WORTH'S APARTMENT**

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" Nightwing and I yell at each other on the eighteenth floor balcony. Not very ninja like of us, and especially dumb considering Rose and her mother, both highly trained assassins, are probably inside.

"Somebody has to talk to Slade's family after what happened in Bialya," Nightwing stated.

"Yeah that why the boss sent me," I reply. "And I don't need your help."

"'Your boss-'" Nightwing expresses disgust in his words. "-didn't send you here to investigate, he sent to stalk."

"To guard!" I counter for Batman.

"Yeah right?!" Nightwing dismissed. "He thinks of them, of you, as-"

"Pawns who he will drag into his egotistic quest blah blah blah," I channeled my inner Dick as I talked. "I get it! You hate Batman and Robin."

"I am the only person who understands Batman," he incorrectly corrects.

"You don't understand him at all," I reply irked. He takes a second to think, grabbing his face.

"Listen... I know Bruce better than anyone else-" His ego explains.

"No you don't! I'M ROBIN!" I get as close as possible to make my point.

"Maybe-" I know what that's supposed to be.

"I don't need your permission to be Robin!"

"-but Bruce will fail you Jason. You'll expect him to save you from something and he'll focus on 'The Mission,' an synonym for stroking his ego. Then you'll realize that everything he taught you isn't a blessing or a cure, but a burden, a life style driven by mistrust and paranoia that is impossible to shake off."

"As far as I can tell Batman wasn't the one who killed Zucco! YOU DID!" My retort visibly shook him. What he'll do next is predictable, he will grab my neck and try to choke me so I can't talk. I pullout a batarang and prepare to create distance as I talk to him, but before I can mock him a girl catches my eye.

"You have no idea what you are talking about," he speaks slowly, in hopes of brainwashing me.

"What the #^!% are you two doing?" Rose asked us, opening the door.

* * *

 **An actual update, shocking. Please comment.**


	5. The Black Sheep

**Actually updated my story in reasonable time, I'm more surprised than anyone.**

* * *

Two Days Later

 **L'HOTEL DES ROIS,** **MARSEILLE, FRANCE**

 _Arkham Knight POV_

"You sure this is the place mom," I ask Talia over the phone. Most supervillain bases are abandoned buildings with rats and disease breeding between the walls, but I finally found the one disguised as a 6-star resort. My luck I guess but knowing my luck there's something horrible about the resort's attractions.

This reminds me of the places Bruce would bring me to. Giant hot tubs, private theaters, top of the line spa, and a mini-country club for a workout room. Of course we would also have some bones to break in the city, but I enjoyed the luxuries when I had time. I don't have any of that time anymore. Being dead will make you uncomfortable in any environment.

Talia sent me out to France because she believes that HIVE set up a research facility in Southern France to take advantage of illegal migration routes into Europe. The idea goes HIVE assembled an international smuggling operation into France, they somehow vet the people they smuggle for meta-human potential, then take and experiment on them. According to Talia, the hotel I have just checked into is where they keep those with the most potential.

"According to my sources, this hotel is using an unusual amount of electricity," she communicates in a modified voice that I still can't get used to.

"Maybe it has to do with the eight pools, two movie theaters, and holographic display," I replied. "Are your sources LexCorp or the League of Shadows?" I ask her.

"Why does that matter?"

"Are you seriously comparing LexCorp and the #^! League-"

"Language!" she complained a smirk I could hear.

"The League of Shadows." One of them has a bunch of middle managers, who are so used to trying to please whoever is above them over actual success that they overstate success, blame lower level employees, and deals with bad PR by using groups desperate subordinates as human shields like a major league sports team, while the other is an organization whose own members would kill themselves if it would further the organization.

"LexCorp," she tells me prepared for my disappointment.

"[SIGH] I don't believe that your father has a sudden belief in HIVE." Its hard to get somebody to help you against a threat that he doesn't believe exists.

"Once there's convincing evidence-"

"Do you not remember the rant he gave you?" I was there and he is convinced that Damien Darkh died a hundred years ago. Despite clear evidence that an organization with structure, personnel, and equipment, both magical and scientific, similar to the League of Shadows exists, with knowledge of League of Shadows bases that predate World War I, and photographic evidence he doesn't believe that his adoptive son is alive. "Is there any convincing evidence?"

"He doesn't want to believe that he failed," Talia told me. "That would ruin his self-image after all. It seems so much easier for him to believe that he died than that he did nothing wrong." Does she think that will bate me? "That he wasn't wrong to stop looking for him." She said that on purpose. "That it was Damien's fault he died, and anyone else he ever puts in that position again-" she takes a brief pause before talking slowly. "-is just a better tool."

"I'm changing into uniform, call me from the armor in a second," I end the call.

The Arkham Knight armor I invented can be hid in a duffle bag as if it were a bunch of scrap metal and put on via magnets in the armor. The magnets attach to the shirt I'm wearing, though I only have two of these, so I tend to launder and demagnetized one of them every day. It allows me to carry around a thicker piece of plating, since I don't have to worry about hiding it under civvies. Everything in the duffle bag looks like metallic sports equipment, including the guns. Lets me take this out in public without suspicion or having to wear clothing two sizes too big. The armor takes a total 15 seconds to attach and another 5 seconds to pressurize and filter air and can instantly fill an emergency air pack in case I need to go scuba diving. It's also internally soundproof meaning I can talk without worrying about (normal) people hearing me.

The call icon on the computer in my helmet goes off as soon as it's all attached.

"Ready to start working?" I ask Talia.

"I thought you would have started the moment you Zetad into Nice."

"I did, but you're probably midway through torturing a McDonalds manager over bad fries."

"An Arby's manager, but I can multitask."

"I'm absolutely sure that's a myth."

"Like resurrection." I roll my eyes at that overused reference.

"HA HA. Well I checked for underground structures and nothing came up."

"That's easy just do your human experiments on the top floor of the hotel."

"They gave me the top floor, and I doubt they're going to try and explain the screaming from human experiments as sex."

"Would you?"

"Try to? Absolutely. You've seen how I explain the crazy s-"

"Language," she cut me off slowly.

"Stuff! I've explained away for your company. But I have another idea. There's no floor 13 in this 20 floor building-"

"Isn't that standard?"

"Yes and no. Its standard to rename a 13th floor 14, but the if you were to look outside a 20 story building has access to 19 of the floors and a basement."

"So the entire floor of a building-"

"Is inaccessible." Placing your evil lair in a 5-star hotel is a gutsy move. Seriously one drunk idiot breaking the floor or ceiling and your screwed. Unless of course they bought the floors above and bellow- Now that I think about it HIVE's thought this out quite well since they could just buy the floors above and bellow as a buffer.

"And how are you going to access it?" I walk up to a sizeable ventilation shaft and start to remove the metal frame.

"The old fashion way." I tell her as I start crawling into the shaft.

"Well before your sidekick-"

"Employee." I correct her.

"-sidekick takes over the airwaves, I thought I'd update you on the Vandal murder case." What else do I need to know? "My father checked Vandal's home in Sudan and found that his home had been invaded." Well she's going to want an explanation for that.

"Who could have known about this base?" I asked.

"Just the Light's inner circle."

"So... Sportsmaster?" I suggest.

"Yes but-"

"The same Sportsmaster who died in HIVE base." Talia begins to pick up.

"Yes but, of course Darhk was looking for Ra's, the father figure who betrayed him, not Savage."

"But footage can be manipulated," I imply, smirking at how this situation has turned out for me. "Maybe somebody manipulated the footage." I can hear a smile form on Talia's side of the link.

"Maybe somebody did, but why?"

"Savage has all sorts of weapons, gathered throughout the years-"

"Just so you know a weapon from the War was missing from the Vandal Savage's arsenal."

"Which war?"

"The second one, but only a handful of people could use it."

"How do you use this weapon?"

"You know how all League of Shadows, can use mystic swords."

"Including me and of course Damien Darkh."

"Yes, just activate the weapon the same way. And Damien Darkh could dismantle the League of Shadows security systems in Nanda Parbat, Infinity Island, and 'Eth Alth'eban."

"Your father needs to be warned about this now!"

"Yes. Yes he does," She turns off the chat. Maybe that will bring Ra's in Talia's war with her uncle.

It's always difficult to transverse ventilation shafts, especially when you don't have a map. None of the vents are designed for people to walk around, so it's not unusual for me to hit dead ends and have to retrace my steps.

After an hour I'm able to find the thirteenth floor, but no exit.

"Are you getting fresh air?" Oracle asks me. Now my hacker/information girl who could get me a map of this building logs on.

"Sort of," I reply. "Have you found anything on this place?"

"Just that its received some trucks containing some weird shipments."

"As in stuff that can make chemical weapons."

"How did you know?"

"Look at the images I just sent you." I could stream everything to her, but I'd rather not have that much about where I have been floating around, so I just send Oracle a few pictures when I'm out in the field. This time I take a photo of an entire chemical laboratory, complete with beakers, shady colored gas, and warning signs plastered everywhere.

"Okay that's how you know."

"Any idea what they're making?" I ask her. I open the shaft and jump down into the lab. This lab seems to cover the entire floor, but there are eight doors, connected to a Metal wall on one end. I first go to the computer and plug in the external access device, a small circular object that allows Oracle to access a computer.

"From the list it seems to be Anthrax, but knowing HIVE its probably more sinister."

"Check the computer." I walk up to these eight doors and begin to check on them with every sensor I have. The first door I walk up to has heat signatures off the charts. I check the handle, but find that the door is computer activated.

I open the door to what is probably a cell. A toilet, a sink, and a in-use bed, yeah a cell. I don't shine a light or anything because I don't know if I want to awaken whoever is in this cell.

"Hey Arkham Knight," Oracle asks.

"Did you find anything?" I ask her.

"Not sure if it's useful or not but I found the psychological profiles for a lot of people."

"And your telling me because…"

"It's basically the only thing on this computer besides solitaire." So the scientist running this lab is one of the psychological types. Like Hugo Strange and the Dollmaker, this guy's science is more focused on watching people than any scientific breakthrough. Then should I release the people in these cells? They were probably kept like human livestock to experiment on. But just in case…

"Anything consistent in these files."

"They all experienced some tragedy."

"That's specific?"

"Well the only things besides a background is an analysis of their fears."

"Of their fears?" I ask.

"Yeah its like PHD level research into their fears." Research into fear and anthrax ingredients… it couldn't be. He died in Arkham.

"Oracle is one of the ingredients brought here blue poppies," I ask her quickly.

"Yeah how did you-"

"$#^! Its-"

My armor is insulated against heat, cold, and electricity. I could go for a run in the arctic as if I was in Miami with this on. If I'm able to feel a breeze, something is wrong. I look into the cell where the breeze originates and see that the prisoner has woken up and staring at me. Even though she's just a 12-14 year old girl with a short haircut and bangs, I pull my gun on her while holding a finger to where my lips would be if I wasn't wearing a helmet, signaling her to be quiet.

"[KLUNK]"

"What the-"

"[KLUNK]" I look to my right and see the metal wall has a dent in it.

"[KLUNK]" And the dent just got bigger!

"[KLUNK]" That's a hand coming out of a metal wall isn't it. Those are never good.

The entire wall splits apart allowing a eight-foot hulking figure to jump out of the metal. The guy looks like he puts steroids in a bowl of milk every day then snorts protein powder in his sleep.

"[RAAAWWRR]"

"Great your one of those people who gets super-strength then goes all feral," I tell the guy. He proves me right, charging at me with poor technique, allowing me to easily slide between his legs. He turns around slowly, not realizing that I'm much closer than I am. When he's completed the turn, I already have both of my guns pulled, with right one set to electric bullet and the left one set to flashbang bullet.

I fire them both at once into his eyes, neither of them go through, but I didn't expect that to happen with someone who have super-strength.

"AGHHHHHHH-" the hulking figure screams and grabs his eyes. I then position myself to kick both of his legs and throw him off balance. However… my foot hits his leg and probably dented my armor before bouncing off. The hulking figure doesn't seem to feel the pain either as he kept perfect form. But he does seem to realize I'm in front of him. Can this get any- He takes both of his hands and prepares to slam me into the ground.

I'm able to avoid the direct hit. But the aftershock of the hit, destroyed the floor bellow the hulking figure, sending me to the other side of the room and him to the floor below.

I get up slowly, disoriented and unbalanced because of the hit against the wall.

"Oracle send an alert to the police," I tell her over the radio. "Eight meta-humans are trapped in the L'hotel Des Rois as experiments of the Scarecrow- AHHHH!" Something just hit my left arm. I move forward but end up falling and crawling on the ground as more and more strength leaves my body. As I lean over to my left arm, I see an object is still stuck in it. After crawling a few feet, I use my right hand to rip it out.

Scarecrow and a needle. #!*%!

"Well Batman, this is unexpected," a familiar voice taunted. I'm slow to stand up and face the Scarecrow, meaning his fear toxin is already running through me. I'm able to point my gun at him, but my hand shakes violently leaving me unable to aim or shoot. "You aren't Batman."

"No Sh-" There's a twelve-year-old here. "S-Sherlock," I can barely say much else as the fear toxin takes a greater hold of me.

"[PEW]" A laser shot hits my hand, sending the gun flying out of the room. I turn around to be greeted by a large red light.

The reality around me begins to change. The ground goes from evil layer to post-apocalyptic city. Several skyscraper, each with broken glass and decaying frames rise around me. The moon casts light down not like a flame, but as a stage light for which I am the show.

"DO YOU LIKE TO THINK YOU ARE BATMAN?!" Scarecrow's voice is amplified, must be the fear toxin. I look up to see that Scarecrow has grown to 30-35 ft in my mind.

I have to remember this is just fear toxin. THIS IS NOT REALITY! I've dealt with this before.

"I'm better-" I'm cut off as some force pulls me down. I look up to see the hulking figure from earlier, only was wearing white spandex with a black three-leaf clover or something in the middle. The fear toxin must be giving him a costume.

"AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT!" The giant-Scarecrow uses the two needles on his right index and middles fingers to grab my helmet and tilt it towards his dark-red eyes. "WHY DO YOU DESIRE TO BE LIKE BATMAN?"

"I'm nothing like him!"

"ACE!" The small girl from earlier comes out of the darkness wearing a unitard with a deck-of-cards style ace on it. She is decked by another woman with a clove and two guys: one with a diamond and another with a heart and a crown. "I WANT TO READ HIM!" Read me? The girl walks up to me and grabs my helmet and holds my helmet. She then proceeds to... hold my helmet. And just keeps holding it. After a while of nothing happening, I try to get answers.

"What are you trying to do?" I ask unintimidated and confused.

"Intriguing!" Scarecrow shrinks to normal size and stands face to face with me. "Why can Ace not get into your head?" Now I get it.

"Because I #!^ hate psychics," after what M'gann did could anyone really blame me. #!^% it still hurts to think about it.

"You fear psychics!" Scarecrow told me. "You try so hard to stop them-"

"No, I'm prepared. I don't have to fear anything from them except my own weakness."

"That's what they all say," Scarecrow tells me as he inserts needles into my neck.

"Ahhhh-" There's something else… Something wrong with this fear toxin. It's- It's different from what I had when I was a kid. I feel... I feel stronger.

"Ten get his blood flowing," Scarecrow commands. The hulking figure behind me—Ten—throws me into a wall. Before I get up, I rip out the needles still lodged into my neck. "It will either kill him or accelerate the transformation."

The whole world flashes green and purple. The colors come from the background but take over the people in front of me as well. Scarecrow, Ace, Ten, and the other prisoners each look like a black and white movie if they used purple and green instead.

A great flash blinds my eyes and takes my face to the ground. AS I step up and see that I'm back in the lab from earlier, the world starts to shift to normal colors. The only difference now is that nobody besides me is here.

"Oracle," I contact her to see if the cameras on my helmet recorded anything. She's not responding. But my connection is fine and according my screen something is talking to em. "Oracle."

"She's not here," it… can't… he doesn't even… I…

"Alfred?" I ask not believing—NO! I shouldn't believe this. I'm still under fear toxin.

"Of course. Master Richard wanted me to hear this."

"Rich-" My back is pounced, and I'm sent to the floor.

"Did you seriously think I didn't know you were here?" Nightwing asks me. I don't even have to look around to know it's that Dick. I pull out my all-blades and stare him in the eyes. Hasn't changed since I last saw him.

"You don't know I'm here," I remind myself not the illusion. The illusion charges at me with his escrima sticks, which I easily parry with the all-blades.

"Deny it all you want Jason, but you know the truth." I recall the All-Blade and aim to deck his face. He jumps back and throws one of sticks at me. It misses, but I know he going to try and hit me from behind, so I turn around to watch the stick come at me, allowing me to easily catch it. "You know that we think your alive."

"No its easier for you-" Why am I talking to an illusion, especially angrily.

"You know deep down that we just didn't want to look for you." I throw one of my All-Blades at his mouth. "Don't you know not to shoot the message?"

"You're an illusion."

"I'm the truth." After recalling the All-Blade I threw earlier, I charge at the Dick with both in hand. We swing our weapons at each other, but we seem to be more interested in talking to each other. "Why do you continue to pretend that you can be the hero? Nobody ever wanted you to be a hero."

"But I'm the hero the world needs and deserves." I'm forced back by a kick to my gut from Nightwing.

"To what? Stop the Secret Society of Superheroes that crossed you. You already know that nobody cares."

"Shut up."

"Despite everything they did to you, to Grant, to civilians deep down you know-"

"SHUT UP!" Nightwing back flips over me and grabs my right shoulder, forcing me to the ground while pressing on my left wrist to immobilize me.

"THAT BRUCE DOESN'T CARE!" The words hurt a lot more than they should. "THE JUSTICE LEAGUE DOESN'T CARE!"

"I know…" I grumble reluctantly. "That's why I'm gonna kick your #$$."

"You know that despite how sneaky M'gann, Stewart, and Zatanna think the Justice League had have known something. But they helped bury whatever that link to your murder was and can you tell me why?"

"It would shatter the illusion after all," I add to him- the illusion. The illusion HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT!

'Nightwing' decks me while I'm trying to convince myself his fist isn't real.

"What is the illusion?" 'Nightwing' asks of me. I start my answer by kicking him in the balls.

"That all of you are heroes rather than narcissistic #$$holes trying to satisfy your own ego." I kick him in the stomach to take him off balance. "Most of you are in this for self-glorification than protection of the innocent." I take 'Nightwing's' head and slam it into my knee. "M'gann's even worse. She treats her entire life on this planet as a fantasy she's entitled to write. To dictate, drive, and kill at will."

"And Bruce-" 'Nightwing' asked softly. I swipe both of his legs off the floor, having him fall flat on his back.

"BRUCE IS THE WORST!" I rage.

"[SLAM]" I take Nightwing head and jam it into the ground.

"He took me in as Robin not out of pity, or need, or to help me! He did it because it made himself feel better!"

"[SLAM]"

"He needed to prove that training a failure like you was a fluke!"

"[SLAM]"

"HE DIDN'T GIVE A $#^! ABOUT ME WHEN I DIED!"

"[SLAM]"

"HE JUST TRIED AGAIN!"

"[SLAM]"

"He gave up on me because it was easier for him to write me off as dead and find a new Robin than to look for me."

"[SLAM]"

"And he never found Joker-" Nightwing mocked me.

"[SLAM]"

"And even if he did-" I prepare to slam him into the ground. "He wouldn't have avenged you." I hold Nightwing's head but… but I can't seem to slam it into the ground again-

"[DROP]" Is-Is that water? Inside my helmet? "[DROP] [DROP]" Must be sweat.

"I wonder if he would do it for the other kids? TIM, STEPHANIE WHAT DO YOU THINK?" I finally gain the ability to look up and see that Nightwing isn't the only one here- NO! None of these people are here! I'm hallucinating.

They're all fake!

Gordon, Cain, Brown, Drake, Bruce-

Bruce! What the fu-

It's an illusion. I just need to take a deep breath-

Something hits my head as I fall onto my back while taking that breath.

"I think he'd stand by and watch my father kill Joker," Brown mocked.

"Nah, I think Bruce would save me before anything could happen," Drake followed.

I pull my head up to see Cain drag her finger across her neck, echoing similar sentiment.

"But deep-down Jason," Nightwing starts whispering into my ear. "You know he wouldn't kill Joker. Because being Batman is more important to him than you. He's not going to ruin his heroic record for you."

"Then why don't you just tell me that!" I yell at Bruce. Bruce doesn't even turn around to respond. "You're going to make him talk for-" NO I can't play these games right now I.

"[BAM]" Night-'Nightwing' punches me in the gut.

"Stop bothering him," 'Nightwing' asked of me. "He doesn't have to bother with you! A useless brat that could never do as he was told-"

"What are you talking about?" I ask as I parry his next attack.

"I'm talking about how he justifies your death!" The illusion yelled at me. But that's not what catches my attention.

Near 'Batman and the others', the wall collapses and a large wind breezes in. Following this and a light flashing- Is that the Batwing? 'Batman' starts to enter the Batwing.

"How do you think he talks to Alfred or potential-step-mom's 5-15 about your life? I bet 7 never told you," Nightwing asked me. "Is it his flawed parental style?"

The two of us bump fists angrily.

"Was it his fault Joker or whoever they think it was got to you-" I'm able to shatter the nose on 'Nightwing's' face.

"Its…" That hit disoriented him more "Because its your fault you died." I try to hit him again, but he caught my hand. "It's what he tells everyone. That if you had just followed his orders you would be alive-"

I stomp on his ankle, twisting it. Nightwing jumps on his other foot instead of keeping balance. I give him a small shove and watch him fall onto his back.

"It's what he tells them-" Nightwing moaned and points behind me again. As I turn around Batman, Cain, Brown, Gordon, and Drake start to enter the Batwing. The last four quickly enter while Batman turns around to face me-

"Nightwing once you're done meet me in the Batcave," he declared, ignoring my presence just as he ignored my death!

What is #^%&ing wrong with HIM!

After discarding me he turned around to walk and join my replacements in the Batwing.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN IGNORE ME YOU PIECE OF $#*!" I yell at Batman. I pull out my grappling hook and catch Batman in it. With one pull I'm able to drag him into the hole (what was his name nine? Ten? its TEN) Ten made earlier. By the time I run to the hole in the ground Batman's already gone. I quickly jump down to peruse Batman.

I hear an elevator door open, turning around to see the door shift in front of Batman. My legs are already running towards him before I even need to tell myself. But for some reason the more I run towards him the farther away he gets, the hallway expands, and the both windows get further away from me until it seems like I've shrunken to the size of a mouse.

"Why do you continue to go on?" Batman asked me.

"WHY!" I rage. "World's Greatest Detective my #$$!" The door closes and I can no longer see Batman. But the hallway starts to shrink, and the windows and ceiling close in on me, allowing me to reach the elevator door earlier than I thought I would. Bringing out both All-Blades, I cut a square entrance for me to jump into the elevator shaft, following it (and Bruce) down. As the elevator stopped, a new hole into the elevator needed to be cut.

After jumping down I'm able to watch the elevator close the door with Bruce on the other side. This time though I can reach out with my arm as the door closes, the elevator door pressuring my chest and back. My hand reaches out for Bruce as he walks away from me. Pretending again as though I don't exist.

"Jason what are you doing," that voice… he's dead. "Your stealing my act boy blunder." I turn to the right as I stand face to face with the clown. Green hair, green eyes, pale skin, and for some reason a one-piece swimsuit. As soon as the door opens, and I stumble through I point one of my pistols at him.

"Don't do that!" the clown yelled from behind me. I pulled out another pistol to see THREE Jokers. The clown in the suit continued talking. "I'm supposed to surprise people with a gun."

"I'm supposed to make women run for their child's life," The clown with a baby in her arms said.

"WAAAAA WAAAAA" Baby clown cried. "DON'T TAKE MY JOB!" The Joker wined at me.

What the #^%& are these- BRUCE!

I've been distracted. I run down the hallway pushing the clown in the one-piece out of the way. Bruce could have gotten out of the building by now-

"What the #^%&?" I mutter as I look at the hotel lobby. I don't have to worry about finding Bruce. I stare into a sea of green hair and pale skin with an obvious Bat ears running towards the hotel entrance.

"Hello 911," a half-tux Joker behind a desk said into a banana. "There's a pointy eared sociopath trying to kill his pointy eared father."

"Mommy," a ponytailed child Joker in a dress asked. "Is that bat going to #^%& the other?"

"Don't worry dear," the taller Joker with a sundress and a woman's sunhat. "He needs the other bat to live, so we'll be able to eat him for dinner."

I walk up to the bleeding Bruce as he crawled away, desperately trying to avoid looking at me while the Joker's form a circle around the two of us, their eyes illuminating the bleeding Batman as the star of this show.

"You never give up do you," I mock the bleeding Batman. "Oh wait! YOU LEFT ME TO DIE!"

"[BANG]" I shoot Bruce in the leg, less about making sure he can't get away than trying to hurt him.

"Who… Who are you?"

"[BANG]" The headshot shouldn't kill him, this electric-bullet's caliber is too low and Bruce's cowl is quite strong.

"DO YOU THINK THIS IS A #^%&ING JOKE?!"

"I do!" A Joker with an Iphone pointed at me cheerfully stated.

"Do any of you remember this guy?" The injured Batman asked the crowd of Jokers.

"[BANG]" I fire a gun in the general direction to get him to shut up.

"That I would be associated with someone like you," Batman asked. "Best joke ever."

"[BANG]"

"Better than my joke about the Gordon girl?" Joker asked sorrowfully.

"What do you think shooting me is going to do? Beg for your forgiveness. 'Oh Jason I'm so sorry-' that you were a fool."

"[BANG]"

"HOLD ON BATMAN! I'M THE FOOL HERE!"

"I never should have made you Robin." I remove his mask so I can look him in the eyes as I-

"[BANG]" This was the last shot I was going to shoot at him, because I blew a portion of his brains onto the map of the world on the hotel floors. As if by fate my bullet shot a hole where Gotham City would be on the map. As I admired the lifeless body before me, reality began to sink in. No really reality began to take over the fear toxin. All the Joker's around me had their pale skin and green hair vanish with darker hair tones and less bone-like skin complexion. As Bruce dies the world gets better.

"KNIGHT!" Oracle's voice in my helmet was so loud that I had to regain balance after jumping insecurely.

"WHY ARE YOU SO LOUD?!" I scream. In hindsight that's probably not going to have any effect, because the speakers on her computer are not that loud to begin with.

"Why am I… What are you doing!" What is she-

As I grapple with the reality around me, I start to realize what Oracle is talking about. I'm currently standing in a hotel lobby, in full costume, in an age where a single cell phone video can be seen around the world.

#^%&! There was no evidence of the Arkham Knight before today. The Justice League was unaware of my existence. Batman would never try to-

Batman would never come after me.

But I can still get out of this. There are Batmen all over the world. Surely one in France shouldn't get too much attention-

"#^%&," I tell the body I shot to death bellow me. "Scarecrow you just #^%& me."

* * *

 **THE BATCAVE**

 _Robin POV_

"[BANG]" Batman—No he's standing right next to me. Which means somebody had the gut to put on a fake Batman costume and kill the Scarecrow.

I turn to my right and feel the rage emanating off him. Muscle veins were visible through his suit, his teeth gritting in plain view, and fingers each twitching at the sight of someone making a fool of themselves dressed like him.

"Robin," Batman's muffled voice finally said to me. "Assemble a team."

* * *

 **Okay things are starting to pick up much faster.**

 **Please comment.**


	6. Flashback: Like Father Like Daughter

**This isn't part of the Jason flashback stories, but this what I wanted to do with the OC Felicity I have, and I think creating a backstory would be a nice start.**

 **Just a reminder, Team Year 0 is the year that takes place during Season 1.**

* * *

Team Year: -8

 **CUTTER FAMILY HOUSE, STAR CITY**

 _Felicity Cutter POV_

"Happy Birthday to Felicityyyyyy-" Mommy, daddy, and everybody else sings. "Happy Birthday to you!" I take a deep breath the attack the fire. Once I'm out of air, my hands reach for cake.

"You forgot one princess!" Daddy tells me. "The wish can't come true if the birthday girl doesn't blow out all the candles." I take another deep breath with all my might. Instead of just releasing it I ask my wish one last time.

 _I wish my daddy doesn't get burned._

* * *

Last Night

I'm hungry. I know mommy's going to tell me that I should have finished my diner, but I was full then and hungry now.

"-Donna we need to prepare to-" daddy? The door to mommy and daddy's bedroom was open by the narrowest of margins. I move my eye close to the peek into their room.

"Damn it-" Mommy said a bad word! "-Noah you promised we wouldn't have to go through this again. Now I just learn you are got fired!" Did daddy get too close to a fire?

"This isn't like before. We don't have to change our identities, we don't have to-"

"Can you ever find a legitimate job?!" Mommy sat down on the bed, covering her face with her hands. Daddy face moves a lot while he doesn't talk.

"Not one that could pay for this house," he eventually says.

"You think that justifies this! You've gone too far! What will ARGUS think if they find out?" Mommy said in her angry voice.

"We would not be defecting, We would be relocating. They might ask me to-"

"They might ask, well demand, for you to rejoin. Do you really want to go though them again?"

"Should I have asked the wall before brick for a job?" Do Mommy and Daddy know a wall and a brick? Because mom chuckled a little as father consoled her. The two of them grabbing each other's hands.

"I remember the wall told you not to never to cross her path." The two of them hugged it out for a long time. "Will brick try and get rid of you if this investigation continues?"

"The investigation can't link to me, only a rat can." Is there a rat in the house? I stare at my feet hoping one didn't sneak up on me again.

"Do you think one of them will become a rat?" Can people transform into rats? Can I become a Unicorn?

"Against Brick? No, but he may want to get one of his guys a softer sentence by offering a Sacrificial Lamb." Is a Sacrificial Lamb one of those with a big neck? "But Brick will probably fire me from his company if he's going to let that happen."

* * *

Tomorrow

A wind comes in behind me. It messes up my hair so I can't see the cake. I fidget with my hair to see my cake. Something's wrong, I can see the cake but all five of the candles are blown out.

"I didn't get a chance to blow out the last candle," I mum.

"It seems that the wind blew out the last candle," Daddy told me. "We could relight them."

"What does that mean for my wish?" I ask daddy. He looks at me, not moving his lips.

"I'm sure you're wish will come soon princess."

* * *

Team Year: -3

"WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" I scream excited. "DISNEYLAND DISNEYLAND DISNEYLAND-"

"Felicity calm down," Mom tells me. "Listen we are going to be going to this place all summer, so we need you to bring everything important for the entire summer."

"DISNEYLAND-"

"Can you please be quiet?!" Dad yelled angrily. I look into his office to see dad on the phone, with papers scattered everywhere.

"Noah!" Mom snapped at dad as she closed his door. "Keep her happy!" she didn't move her jaw when saying that last statement.

"Is dad angry at me," I ask mom. Mom walks over to me. She grabs both of my shoulders, bringing me into a hug, and kissing my forehead.

"Sweetie, dad is mad at a lot of things right now, but I promise you are not one of them."

"Really?" Dad does a lot for me. He always buys me what I want even when mom doesn't know about it. He taught me how to do all my school work. He even taught me how to do all the cool computer stuff he needs to do for work.

In many ways dad's my hero.

"Would he be taking you to Disneyland if he was mad at you?" I cheer up at mom's reminder.

"I guess not."

"Come on dear, I'll help you pack. And make sure to bring everything you have."

"Why?" I ask still excited about Disneyland.

"Because... We are going to have to live at Disneyland all summer." Mom tells me.

"HAAAAAAA" I take in more air to expand my eyes.

* * *

10 Hours Later **  
**

 **CUTTER FAMILY AIRPLANE**

"Dad how did you get a plane?" I ask him while drinking a fancy coke mom didn't want me to drink.

"Sir we have a problem," a man in a captain's suit charges into the room interrupting my question.

"Felicity I think you have to go to bed," dad told me.

"But its only 8 o'clock!" I reminded him.

"I know sweetie but Daddy has to-"

"Sir you might want to put her in a chair," the man panicked, tugging at his suit. Looking behind him before looking at father. "We're going to have turbulence issues."

"Turbulence?" Dad asked. The suit then pulled him closer, whispering in daddy's ear. "Sweetie, buckle in." Dad told me. Dad then took me to a seat on the side of the plane rather than the bed.

"Dad, what's turbulence?" I ask him.

A large sound comes from outside the airplane. It was fast and rang in my ears for seconds after it first hit. I look out the window to see a rain hitting the window as a dark black cloud surrounded us.

"That was turbulence," Dad told me.

"No that was lightning," I corrected him.

"Noah!" Mom frantically emerged from her bedroom, running to dad. "Was that-"

"LIGHTNING!" Dad explained loudly to her. "Donna it was lightning." Dad hugged her while pointing to me, probably asking me to close the window. I close the window to put mom at ease. She comes over to sit by me while we wait for the clouds to pass by.

And the sound comes again, this time rapid beeps. There were people screaming in the other room, panicking because of the weather but I was-

"Can I use the bathroom?" I ask mom and dad.

 **"[BOOM]"** The front door explodes and everything started to fly out. Papers, luggage, cards, anything that wasn't held down. Mom gripped me tightly as the air-

Feels difficult to breathe-

* * *

Why do I feel so weak? Why can I only see a red blur approach me

* * *

I look around to see a orange goo on the other side of the airplane. It looks rightside up but why is everything falling towards the ceiling.

* * *

"-MY PARENTS-" the Red suit asked my father.

* * *

"Mommy" Am I asleep why is everything dark.

* * *

Unknown Amount of Time Later

 **UNKNOWN LOCATION**

"Yawn..." Why does this bed feel so hard? Why are my lights on- These aren't my lights. That's not my TV. This isn't my room. Why am I here?

I attempt to get up but feel my arm is unable to move. Looking to see what is holding down my arm, my mom surprises me. Mom is sleeping while sitting in a chair. The all white room I'm in isn't mine. Is this Disneyland? I know that I was supposed to take a nap on the plane, but I thought I would remember getting off the plane. But wouldn't the princess bed be softer considering how long sleeping beauty had to wait on one.

What am I wearing? I look down to see that I'm wearing a blue dress of some sort with a wristband. I look at my mom to see that she has a wristband as well. After looking at all the health warning signs in the room it hits me. I'm in the hospital? Moving up, my back straightens but my leg doesn't move. Looking over my mom is sleeping on my leg. I reach over to try and wake her up only to drop a remote.

"This is the GBS's Cat Grant reporting live from the bail hearing of Noah Cutter, who we here at GBS are referring to as the Calculator," the lady on the TV announced. A photo of dad appeared above her shoulder.

"SCHEWWWWWWW-" I fall back to my bed feeling the pressure of the plane, so real and stuck in my memory that it scared me even now. I remember everything, the seatbelts, the plane, Disneyland. Did the plane crash? Is that why I'm in the hospital? Why is dad on TV?

"But this story seems to have led to the emergence of a new superhero," the- the- GUY IN RED. He broke into dads plane. He attacked us.

It was blurry but I saw him hold dad hostage! OH NO! DAD'S BEEN KIDNAPPED! Flailing around I accidentally kick mom, waking her from a deep slumber.

"Huh," Mom's eyes blink many times, only partially coming open each time before they widened to full view. "FELICITY!" Mom quickly hugs me tightly. "Iwassoworriedthatsomethigwouldhappentoyou." Quickly getting all of her feelings out, mom continues to hug me into a chokehold.

"The new sidekick to Green Arrow that the police report refers to as Speedy led a daring arrest of the dastardly villain who was attempted to flee to Bialya with data stolen from government agencies, including the infamous prison Belle Reve. Daring might even be an understatement as he hijacked the plane Mr. Cutter was attempting to escape in."

"Mom was dad trying to take us to Ballia." I ask her repeating the TVs claim.

"Police believe that he began escalating a crime spree 2 years ago. When Mr. Cutter was fired as part of an internal power struggle with the criminal organization led by the suspected mob boss Brick. But authorities say that his activities date at least two decades-" Mom abruptly turns the TV off.

"Is the TV true?" I ask mom. Mom's face twitches. She bites her lip and looks around. "IS IT TRUE!" I scream at mom, tearing up I beg mom for the truth. "Is dad a criminal?"

* * *

Team Year: 1

My alarm reminds me to wake up on a day I'd rather not. The light isn't even shining in my room, it would be so easy to just fall into a dream instead of living this nightmare. I grab the alarm clock and read it.

6:50

The alarm is supposed to go off in ten minuets. Did I imagine the alarm? Then I'm supposed to get dressed and follow my parents to try and avoid being seen on TV. Then once the reporters are gone I'll sit and wait for 12 people to tell me that he is an awful person, or maybe even when they are here depending on how much they care that. After hearing normal people, good people, and the best of humanity tell me that he's the bad guy. Do I need to hear this again?

I turn of the alarm, roll the blankets over my eyes, and grab the pillow to smother my face. Then I just stare into my closed eyes. I don't know how long I've been staring into my own eye lids.

"[KNOCK] [KNOCK]" I know who is at the door. If I locked the door last night, he won't be able to come in. He still has to make it to trial.

"Felicity," he called out to his daughter through the door. "I know I'm not the person you want to talk to. I also know that, there is nothing you owe me, but-" the doomed man paused. "I would greatly appreciate it, if you would let me know that you're behind me later today."

I hear the footsteps walking away. Once I can no longer hear them I pull the sheets off of me. I take a second to stare at the door and listen to his words once again. The clock next to me reads 7:23.

7:23

Can I change in 7 minuets?

* * *

5 Hours Later

 **STAR CITY COURTHOUSE**

"I sentence you Mr. Cutter to 100 years in prison," the Judge sentenced my- my- the Judge sentenced Noah Cutter.

"YES!" the crowd behind me screamed as the police dragged him off. Four years since Speedy used him to bolster his career. Four years the people behind me waited to watch him be sentenced to die in prison. Four years of mom and I hiding from everyone we once knew. Four years of hell! All because of HIM!

Noah Cutter, nicknamed 'The Calculator' because of his ability to divide and multiply money on paper. He was essentially the banker of all criminal operations on the West Coast. Illegal money came to him and ended up going into drug companies, casinos, brothels, hedgefunds, and whatever shady but legal business he can put them in which ultimately returned to his clients. There have also been allegations, just not at this trial, that he was involved in many infamous hacks over the years, collecting information for the mob. The only thing they could prove him guilty of was blackmail. It's also apparently what brought Green Arrow and his, at that time, new sidekick to that plane. I shutter thinking that I could have died falling from a hundred feet because dad wanted to escape the country.

Why were prosecutors able to drive him to flee the country? What could they arrest somebody who was able to go through all these crimes and live in suburban Star City?

The Calculator thought he could get $100 million from the Harper family patriarch. Unfortunately he and his wife died before they could complete a transaction. The Harper's only son and his guardian Oliver Queen, began a legal crusade against those involved in the murder. Apparently the Calculator's money laundering operation provided the funds, but that was enough Queen's private investigation group to target my father. And I can remember how that went.

You know, I actually believed dad until this year. I remember mom telling me at the hospital about how he was a good man, and the wrong people were making him do things. But having to sit through this two year trial convinced me he's a scumbag. But what does that make me. I grew up with the money he stole. Despite this trial I'll probably still have money he stole. Does that make a bad person? Do I deserve to suffer because of that?

"Sweetie lets go," my mom called me. She called me 'sweetie,' probably because she's feeling insecure right now. I can't see why she would feel so scare right now. One of the biggest pieces of $#!% to walk the earth was just sentenced to die. A man that is despised by everyone in this room, a city, and the entire coast. A man whose mere name can inspire hate in the most pure of hearts. A man that- that I- I can't hate.

OW!

That's me deep down after admitting that to myself. I don't hate him. Why can't I hate him?! Is it because I think he's innocent? Is it because he's my father? Is it because he did this all for-

"Mr. Cutter what did you do with the money!" A journalist yelled at us. Apparently while I was internally attacking myself mom and I followed the Calculator outside as the police swarmed him. The bright flashes of photographers kept me from counting how many there were, but that just means there are a lot of them.

"Is it true that you were working with the suspected mobster Brick?!"

"-the Yakuza"

"-the North Rhelasian regime-"

"-Qurac-"

"-Intergang-"

"Did you have anything to do with the Harper family-" HE didn't- Why am I defending him?

"Mr Cutt-"

"YOU RAT!" A ragged man screamed.

"[BANG]" I duck, but end up being pushed to the floor by other panicked people. Once I feel safe enough to look up. Several people had piled on the ragged man, disarming him. I us my hands to push myself off the ground, leaving a red hand print on the stones. Upon looking at the stone I freak out, shaking my hands in all directions. Once all the blood is off my hands I look at what I did. I rubbed my hands against my dress, turning it into a black and red mess.

I need to get out of here. It was a mistake to come here today. I should have just stayed in bed and not been near a high-profile shooting target. I just want to find mom and get out of here.

Walking up the steps, I'm able to get a better view of the courthouse street. People were still panicking in all directions, journalists were trying to take a picture of the shooter, and mom was ducking on the center step. Mom's dress also looking like my mix of black and red. Did she-

The red on her dress was expanding, from her belly outwards. The water on the pavement, mixing with the red became thicker and thicker.

* * *

Team Year: 3

 **SMOAK FAMILY HOUSE**

 _Felicity Smoak POV_

"How long do I have doc?"

"Ms. Smoak," Dr. Elizabeth Chapel started to give the results. "First you should know that you have made a remarkable recover since the bullet wound last year." Well anyone who went from near-death to walking can tell you that. "There is one problem... however..."

"Just tell me doc," The doctor didn't respond initially, only causing my insides to panic even more.

"Your kidney," the doctor finally told her. "I can explain the science to you later but, you will need to get it replaced. Do you understand?" If the doctor had to ask mom that, it must have been as shocking to her as it was to me.

"I- IIII I-" mom muttered to the doctor. Mom didn't even want me to come with her to this doctor's visit, said I have to study because my grades are down to a whole 6/7 A's (stupid psychology). But the stress got to me easily. I had to know the truth straight from the horses mouth, otherwise mom might want to downplay whatever the doctors told her. So I hacked her phone. Don't get me wrong I'm nothing like the Calculator. "[DEEP BREATHING]"

"Ms. Smoak don't panic. I need you to remain calm," I know she isn't talking to me but I needed to hear that right now.

"[RING]" I fall out of my chair, almost bringing down the table my computer sits on.

"bbbbbeeeeeoooooowwwww" Sirens?

"BBBBEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW" THE COPS!

They must have learned that I hacked Facetime and Apple! They're here to arrest me and throw me in a cell with da- the Calculator!

"BBBBEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!" They are getting closer! Ihavetosurender. Icangetapleadeal. I'maminorafterall.

The thoughts in my head are just repeated over an over again, becoming drowned out by a louder and louder heart bear and police siren. Eventually my thoughts switch from just suggestions to graphic images of the trial all those years ago. The media scrutiny, the judicial tension, and family drama-

The siren's frequency has lowered. According to the Doppler effect they went from moving to standing still. The siren's are getting louder as more and more red and blue lights flash at my window. The flashes leave me with less and less control of my body. My hands shaking against their will as they grip the door handle.

As I pull the door open the initial sun light blinded me. Eventually a woman in a suit started to form. I couldn't make out any details as I was looking away, avoiding direct contact with the police, holding my hands out to be arrested just to end it.

"You must be Felicity Cutter," the woman in front me said in a noticeable British accent.

"Tell me where I have to go," I ask, unsure if I'm talking to the officer.

"Where you have to go?" the woman pondered aloud. "I was going to ask if I could come in, the sirens can be loud."

"I'm sure you would know about that," I replied, more fearful than a comeback.

"I'm sure I would, I've been standing out here since you're neighbors barbecue started." Barbecue? I open of my eyes to stare at the woman. The first thing I see is that the woman was too young to be a FBI agent. Maybe 20 with black hair, tattoos, and vivid eyeliner. If she wasn't dressed in a suit she could be a spitting image of a sorceress detective. The second thing I see is the bonfire engulfing the house across the street, At least three fire trucks surrounded the building, but even they would probably not be enough as the three story house burned a so bright you'd think it was the sun. Oh thank god it's just my neighbors house burning. The police aren't here to arrest me. I'm not going to jail for hacking. I don't have to worry about the sirens. "Are you alright?" the woman who rang the door asked. I have to look up to see her because I got down on my knees at the relief of not getting arrested. I frantically stand up arranging all of my clothing and leaning against the door to look cool.

"Yeah," I frantically replied. "Yeah, I fine. I just. I was feeling stressed." The woman took my response more seriously than I did.

"I can understand why you would be stressed. Especially since you probably just heard about your mom's kidney."

"Listen, its a stressful time right now. Its the last thing I want to think about." Well I guess its better to have condolences at my front door, rather than having thief, and robber baron thrown at me.

"I understand, my own mother went through an episode like this recently," the woman whose name I still don't know, tried to comfort. "I don't think I introduced myself." She holds out her hand and I shake it. "Nora Darhk, my father wishes to consult with your father."

"My father," I reply smiling, but uncomfortable, shaking Nora's hand endlessly. "Mutli-convicted felon Calculator."

"That's the one," Ms. Darhk replied cheerfully. "I assume you've talked to him." To the Calculator. The man who carefully calculates every word to sound like a jack#$$.

"No I haven't talked to him in..." two years huh. Two years since dad-THE CALCULATOR was sentenced and Mom was shot.

"Well surely you can-" I don't know what face I made, but her optimism is removed. "I see." I haven't tried to- "Well If you can ever get into contact with him-" she hands me a calling card with a phone number. "-I can help you with anything if you can help my father."

* * *

Team Year: 4

 **STAR CITY ROYAL HOSPITAL, STAR** **CITY**

"-and the attack on Central City has continued to cut off access to the city. President-"

"-and Veronica Cable are considered to be among those who are trapped in the Central City."

"Riots broke out in DC due to perceived indifference from the administration to the attack in Central City."

Do they not have anything else on TV?! I just want to relax and wait for mom to- to-

"[SNIFF]" I'm not crying. Crying would mean that there's something to be sad about. Mom's going to get off the list. Then 6 months from now we can dance at a "she got better celebration" and we can put this whole ordeal behind us.

Its not like the donor will know that dad- I mean mom changed to her maiden name. She could also be anyone who happened to have a spouse with the last name Cutter they're no longer with.

"Felicity-" Dr. Chapel called to me as I emerged from deep thought. Instantly tuning off the TV I directed all of my attention to her. "I don't know how to tell you this but-"

"Mom's not getting a kidney," I say depressed yet not shocked. Of course he would find a way to ruin this too. He knows exactly how to ruin everything in my life. "What's her-"

"The drugs are causing her to sleep for long periods of time but we are looking for new-" I stop listening to her as I've heard it three times before. There is a procedure. There is a donor list. There is a way to make sure your mom won't die. Yet every time something comes up. Every time the universe sends my mom to die. This one hurt more than the others. The other ones were because of random events. An car crash, an attack, and another relative needing a kidney I understand. This time the donor happened to be someone d̶a̶d̶ Calculator scammed out of their life savings. When I first looked into the donor I thought he wouldn't be able to connect Calculator and mom, nay I tried everything I could to prevent him from connecting the two. Fake webpages, fake Facebook accounts, fake husbands and I made sure his internet searches didn't allow him to know the connection. But, if he pulled out of being a donor, like how the doctor had been talking to mom about for months then he must have found her connection and protested getting money from the Calculator's wife for his kidney. Was there something I overlooked? Another laptop, a library account, a phone?

"Felicity where are you-" the doctor calls out me as I storm out the door. I need something to eat. Something to take the stress away. I fast walk down the hallway. Moving at every increasing speeds away from my mother's deathbed. NAY! Murder bed. Killed by the greed of the Calculator!

I pull my wallet out aggressively. I just wanted to grab a dollar and shove it into the vending machine's mouth. Choke it on the wealth it desired. Let it suffocate on all the dollars it has used to bring harm to the world. The families that dumb machine ruined. The-

I just dropped my wallet. And everything in it fell out. Great now as I have to pick every thing up and look at all of the Jamba Juice gift cards, haircut punchouts, and receipts throughout the years. A sandwich place. Old school id. A contact card for- who was Nora...

* * *

I spin the id card in my hand. One phone number could save my mom. One job for a not-necessarily-criminal associate of my criminal fath- a criminal I might have known. Its not as though I've never broken the law. I hacked a couple of computers at my school. But an associate of him would expect me to.

I look at the number for a minute, lining it up with a photo of my mom that I keep on my desk. That all I need before I pull the trigger and call the number on the phone.

"[RING]" Okay it takes a second for them to get on the phone.

"[RING]" I'm sure they misplaced their phone.

"[RING]" Why don't you answer me-

"Hello," a voice comes out of my speaker phone. I pause as I don't know what to ask her about: criminal affiliation, my dying mom, her father. "HELLLOOOOOO," she follows up.

"Hi. Hi. Hi." I mutter in quick succession to let her know I'm here to talk.

"Hi, who are you?" She impatiently asks.

"Hi," I mutter again. "Hi I'm Felicity Smoak."

"Were you my Uber driver? The lawyer? Oh, Mr. Cutter's daughter." I hold back the urge to vomit at being caused that #$$hole's daughter. "I assume this is about your mother not getting a kidney." How does she- Oh what do I care, I just need the help.

"Yes. Please if you can do anything to help her I'll do whatever you want," I quickly concede all leverage with negotiations by begging her to help me.

"Hmmm..." she taunted me by thinking for long periods of time, while keeping me trapped by the changes in the tone of her hum. "Well the job I wanted your father for can no longer be performed," that statement causes my heart to sink. This was probably my last hope besides stealing the kidney myself... maybe- "But there is another task your father can do for me." HOPE. I feel ecstatic at the chance to help my mom by... getting... my... Calculator. %$#^, you have to be kidding me.

"Yeah, about that." I can hear her eyes rise over the phone. How can anyone do that? "Cannnn I. You know. Possibly do. This. Maybe-"

"You think you have hacking skills on the level of your father," once again she feels a sadistic need to mention that he's my father. "Prove it."

"Prove it?" I repeat. "How?"

"Find a way to do it," she repeats, clearly annoyed at the waste of time. Okay I have to impress her fast. I have my computer open, but all of my stuff only lets me hack into the school or emails. I'll have to do something more public to get her attention. Or maybe?

"Do you have a bank account?" I ask her.

"0160520160" she quickly tells me. With my computer set up I begin the transfer.

"How much money is in there?" I ask. She pauses, probably wondering if I just robbed her. The time frame before her response was long enough.

"Well apparently I had $30 million more in there than I expected," she final answered, chuckling at what she had found. Luckily for my interview, I guess that is what she wanted, I was able to open up an old program I had to rob my school. Hey saving my mom is more valuable than their new football stadium. Not my fault tax dollars are allocated this way.

"Ms. Cutter-"

"Smoak." I cut her off. "Its Felicity Smoak." Correcting her.

"Alright Felicity, I'm going to prepare to get your mom back to the top of the donor list for her kidney. HOWEVER, I want you to find the location of a package that left the Lexcorp facility in Kazakhstan for Qurac some time in June or July, then I will consider doing what I have prepared."

"What package?" I ask staying work focused as she probably wants. "What facility?"

"That's irrelevant, it should be obvious what I want," Ms. Darhk wrote off. "Your father would understand." She happily said, possibly understanding my deep disgust for him.

"When and How do you want it?" I ask my 'employer' for her standards.

"Within the week and call this number again. Don't make me regret this. Bye."

* * *

Three Days Later

"What else do you need to know about the job?" she asks, no introduction, no warmer, just pure business.

"Well Ms. Darhk, you'll be glad to know that I completed your assignment," I proudly respond. A second feels too long for a response. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Ms. Darhk also say into the phone, much closer to the phone than her last statement. "Ms. Cut- Smoak, can you repeat what you said."

"I told you I found the package." Her silence, deeply disturbs me. Does she think I did something wrong? Was she expecting a response earlier? Was she-

"Well I don't know what file you found Ms. Smoak, but all of data should be encrypted. It will take at least a month to fully decrypt."

"I know I had to decrypt it. First finding the LexCorp facility was relatively easy as there was only one facility in Kazakhstan, owned by a few shell companies. Essentially once I hacked into LexCorp's financial records I was able to find a money trail from an . Took hours to come up with the formula, but basically the whole thing had to be translated from Kazakh to Spanish then find the logistics in French-" I continue to go off about the many levels needed to decrypt the secret LexCorp documents.

"Haha..." I hear a feint laugh coming from the other end of the phone. A happy one showing great satisfaction in my work. "Tell me Felicity, what does this document trail show."

"Yes, there was a package by a company called Light Transport from Kazakhstan to Miami."

"HAHAHA," she breaks out laughing. "This is wonderful! Nay this is much further than that. This can revolutionize the entire world."

"Is this package really that powerful?"

"[CRACKLE]" I feel strong heat break out behind me and hear as if a fire come alive.

"Oh my dear!" I hear Nora Darhk's voice, but its almost as if its not coming from my phone. My chair is spun around and before me a smiling Nora, burning circle at her feet with a green flame instead of a red one, and her shadow visible in three dimensions stared down at me. "Its not what you found that has me excited its how you did it."

With a wave of her hand, my vision fades to black.

* * *

Unknown Amount of Time Later

 **UNKNOWN LOCATION**

A enormous headache greets me as I wake up to start a new day. Based on the way gravity is coming down on me I slept in my chair again. Or at least a chair as I don't buy steel desks. Where did I fall asleep again?

"[Klunk]" After attempting to fix my hair before even opening my eyes, a metallic click gets me to pay attention to handcuffs tying me to the steel desk I was sleeping at. The fully metal desk, fully metal chair, undecorated walls with a mirror that can easily be one way glass, leads to the obvious conclusion. I was arrested. I'm surprisingly chill with the fact that I was arrested, what disturbs me is that I have no idea what I did to get arrested.

All I can remember from last night is that I was at my computer updating Ms. Darhk on my phone. The I met her? Did she come over? Why can't I remember anything after that?

"[CREEK]" Ms. Darhk walks in through a metal door, dressed in a business suit with a tablet sporting a hexagon symbol.

"Ms. Smoak I'd like to congratulate you," she tells me, eyes never looking up from her tablet. "I have the opening of a lifetime for you."

"I'm getting a plea deal," did I say something earlier. Clearly I'm in an interrogation room which means whatever Ms. Darhk wanted me to find got me arrested. Was it a sting operation? Why am I having such a hard time remembering last night.

"You can plea all you want, but I can't let you go. Not after you gave me this." Her tablet opens up a 3D hologram, the type only seen at Wayne tech. Two models appear, one of the earth with a path from Kazakhstan to Germany to Argentina to Portland and one of a middle aged man. "Dr. Ebeneezer Darrk, spelled r r, no relation, except for the fact that he used to work for my father." Her father?

"You mentioned that your father used to work with my fa- the Calculator."

"No," she flatly denied. "My father wanted to work with your father. Unfortunately he's been unavailable since his arrest."

"He's in military custody." I tell her.

"I know but the military is surprisingly tight lipped about where they are keeping him. No paperwork, no id, no vehicle, nada. Its as though they vanished him from the face of the earth." That doesn't sound too bad. "But I think it might have been for the best because now I have you."

"Me?" She finally looks me in the eyes and closes the tablet.

"You clearly undervalue yourself." She gets up from her chair and inputs a number into the door. "Come with me." I look down to see that the handcuffs that held me down earlier had since disappeared. Not just fallen off disappeared, since looking around its as though they were never here. "Come on!" Ms. Darhk states standing at the door.

I walk alongside Ms. Darhk through some sort of, honestly it looks more like a corporate office rather than a police, or CIA, or FBI station. The hallway is modern with marble floors and wood walls, the hexagon symbol from Ms. Darhk's laptop occasionally found on the walls under a statement: The Hierarchy of International and Virtuous Elevation.

Finally I pass a glass pane to let me see into one of these office spaces. The 3D holograms aren't just for briefing prisoners apparently as a team of engineers and biologists attempt to create limbs of some sort. Another group has tons of mice in cages, each with a different injection number on them. A third has what seems to be a routine medical examine if the person was pink.

Another wave of windows shows chemistry, botany, surgery, and a host of new science that even I can't understand. When Ms. Darhk comes to a stop its in front of an empty wall she speaks in a foreign language, clearly activating some voice control as it caused a series of dark blue lines to appear going up to down with the occasional 45 degree angle. The wall then pushes back them into the side walls, revealing a cell from the light in the hallway, with the man shown to me earlier detained in it.

"Dr. Daark, two As," Ms. Darkh slowly calls out to the man, who responds by shooting a glare. "Just to be clear not related." Ms. Darhk whispers to me. "You two of course are connected, indirectly of course." The dangerous doctor shoots me a death stare that was previously aimed towards Ms. Darhk. She meanwhile grabs my shoulders before speaking. "This little girl is the one who uncovered your operation" The doctor scans me, before giving a unimpressed assessment, seemingly disgusted with himself that I caught him. "Oh don't seem so disappointing doc, she's far more dangerous than she seems. Which is why I'm so happy I gave her the job of tracking you down for me." Ms. Darhk looks me in the eyes. "Oh you are wondering what the doctor did. Dr. Daark here attempted to steal a great power from me-"

"You are not worthy of the power!" the doctor yelled at her, getting up to slam himself against an invisible barrier baring him from entering the hall. "You're false king is no Ra's al Ghul!"

"My dad and Ra's had a falling out," she whispers to me.

"Raash?" I ask, wondering if its someone famous.

"Didn't you're dad ever tell you about the legendary founder of the League of Shadows."

"Is that a World of Warcraft faction? Because I'm more of a DoTA person."

"DO NOT COMPARE THE MASTER TO SOME GAME! CHILD!" Mr. Daark, hit himself against the barrier repeatedly, blood even spilled onto the the wall and seemed to levitate in the air after the third thump.

"Just to be clear the Ra's guy runs a bit of a cult of personality in the world's great secret society." Ms. Darkh explained before turning her attention back to the prisoner. "He turned one of the great instruments of humanities progress, one that handled the chaos of industrialization and great power struggles to give us the Pax-Britannica age then in a fit of jealousy exiled my father and transformed the organization into a cult."

"YOU LIE! The master gave you're father everything, and he betrayed the master in a quest to conquer the world!" World conquest? Secret societies? What did I sign up for... "He-" The doctor was forced against the invisible barrier, this time not of his own will. Levitating in the air, Ms. Darkh holds out her hand to signal keeping him here.

"I heard the same thing from the others." Ms. Darkh puts her hand through the invisible barrier touching the doctor's chest with her fingertips.

"CJAaAAGGHH-" he started to choke on the air, grasping for whatever live he could try to force into himself. Slowly as he weakened his whole body retreated on him. It was as though everything will, life, blood, water, nutrients, all sucked from his body. The Doctor was transformed from a healthy man to a living mummy, able to feel it happen in real time.

Upon this sight I fall back against the wall across the hallway. Holding my body together to prevent vomiting, yet unable to look away at the horror I had witnessed. Ms. Darkh stayed focused on her prey, clearly unaware of my discomfort. After minutes of suffering the white in his eyes fade, replaced simply with a dark hole into his skull. Ms. Darkh stopped her levitation technique allowing the corpse to fall to the ground as the walls closed in on the room where the prisoner formerly lived, abet much more slowly than when it opened.

Despite normally being of equal height Ms. Darkh looked down on me as my terrified body hunched onto the wall. She walked over to me, grabbing my cheek with her palm to make sure that I stared her in the eyes. "Sorry about keeping your initiation waiting. My father expects me to deal with delinquents, traitors and the like myself."

"My... initiation?" I softly ask.

"Of course. You offered your services in exchange for your mothers life." Mom's kidney. "In fact she just came out of the surgery." She went into surgery! Thats impossible I've been unconscious for at most... I don't know how long I've been unconscious. Based on the smell of my clothes it can't be more than a day... could it? "And now as my newest subordinate, hired and found by me, I have to initiate you myself."

"But..." I weakly attempted to fight back.

"Now you've seen what happens to those that attempt to betray me so I'll be able to skip step 3-" I look past her one more time to look at a mummified corpse, with wrinkles at every cell, black holes, rotten flesh, and what could possibly be my future as the door to the cell finally closed.

"Welcome to HIVE!" Ms. Darkh joyfully announced. "Here you will help us advance humanity and take over the world. The later will probably be needed for the former."

* * *

 **I'm BACK. Sorry this took so long. I already have stuff for my next few chapters so that should be shorter. My Maxima Affair should update soon and I hope to finish that so I can focus on this.**

 **Please Comment!**


	7. New Direction

**Back to the present day. Feels so good to write Robins again.**

* * *

Present: 90 Minutes Later

 **MARSEILLE, FRANCE**

 _Arrowette POV_

"Well new girl it looks like your first case on the squad will be much more interesting than mine," Knightwing-the first Robin (I didn't know that the current Robin was the second. Makes much more sense now that I think about it. SO COOL!)- told me.

"Hi, I'm Arrowette," I nervously greet the legendary hero.

"Didn't you find me in a pod?" Superboy asks. What was Superman's son doing in a pod?

"This is going to be better," Knightwing tells us giddily. Superboy pouts at the former Robin.

"Sorry but Batman's not here," Robin tells ex-Robin.

"WHAAAAAA-" Knightwing replies with shock, grabbing his own hair to over-dramatize how he feels.

"He said he didn't want to waste his time with such trash… Then proceeded to rip a door off and blamed the door for being weak."

"Please tell me you have a recording." Knightwing asked on his knees.

"Sorry," Robin holds his hands up.

"Uhhhhh. I wanted to watch Batman fight Batman."

"Is that why you rejoined the team?" Kid Flash asked.

"I'm not rejoining," he quickly corrected. "This is just too entertaining to pass up. Whoever dressed up like Batman and killed Scarecrow had to be either the bravest or craziest person on earth."

"Why is that?" Wonder Girl asked. "People dress up like us all the time? Sometimes in ways that can't be unseen." Yeah I've seen those as well.

"This is no normal cosplayer," Knightwing says. "I find it difficult to believe that the first person to come across Scarecrow in nearly three years happened to dress like that. He's making a statement."

"What kind of statement?" Superboy asked.

"A challenge. Perhaps maybe he was trying to get Batman to come after him."

"I think we are asking the wrong question," Robin interjects. "We should be asking why the Scarecrow had a chemical weapons lab here."

"Fear toxin production." Knightwing quickly states. "Perform some human experiments by the water and continue his… 'research.'"

"Was it really necessary to disappear for three years just to do that? I've never met the guy but the scale here seems off for research."

"What do you mean by scale?" I ask.

"The Scarecrow didn't just make some fear toxin, the materials he had could gas all of Rome or Paris. What did he want with all that toxin?"

"Maybe he wanted to gas all of Rome or Paris," Kid Flash suggested.

"He clearly had a bigger plan before Fake-Batman showed up," Nightwing said.

"Is that what we're calling him?" Superboy asks.

"Got anything better?" Nightwing asks as we answer with silence, giving me an opportunity to ask either a very dumb or very smart question. "What Scarecrows bigger plan was though and how it connects to the fake-Batman is our mission."

"How do supervillains buy the materials to make chemical weapons?" I ask because my mom can barely make perfume without layer after layer of contracts, supplier fights, and extortion rates. Meanwhile these guys seem to be able to buy in bulk while living out of a van.

"Great thinking Arrowette," Robin complements me and my very smart question. "I'll start using The Brother to track-"

"The Brother doesn't exist outside North America," Superboy tells us. "Europe's history with dictatorship inspires strong privacy laws."

"The… Brother is watching us?" I say confused at what they are talking about.

"Next generation security software installed by President Lane," Robin starts talking. "It's connected to every CC camera, every ATM monitor, every streaming service in America. Constantly searching through data for requests like Facial ID, weapons match, suspicious money transfers with a 60% accuracy rate."

"So it's wrong 40% of the time?" My question visually throws off Robin as his face freezes to process my interpretation.

"Yes, but the technology's potential makes it more important that we find failure and fix it. It will lives much more comfortable as they know public spaces are protected area's from criminal actions, allowing the police and civil society to monitor open spaces."

"If I'm being honest I feel very comfortable here knowing my every action isn't being watched," Superboy tells Robin as the Kryptonian stares at a security camera, as if to challenge whoever is on the other side of it.

"Oh come on the Brother makes our lives so much easier. It gives us a history of every building, every person, every crime-"

"Sorry little wing but looks like we are going to have to do this the old fashion way," Knightwing cuts him off.

"And I would like it if you spent less time on a computer," Wonder Girl tells him.

"I haven't been spending that much-" Robin defended himself.

"Just be glad she thinks you're fighting crime on your computer," Knightwing's words lead to a bright red blush across Robin's face. All of us stare in judgement and light laughter.

"Well should we go find chemical weapons and get them back on mode," Kid Flash tries to help an embarrassed Robin. On mode? Do we want to activate chemical weapons?

"YES," Robin exclaims. "Get to work."

* * *

 _Arkham Knight POV_

"What the #^%& happened!?" Talia yells through my helmet.

"Mother such coarse language-" I feign shock and disgust with my British words.

"Don't #^%& with me!" Yeah we are both kind of in the #^%& barrel right now. Talia's, and by extension her League of Shadows faction and Lexcorp's, secret assassin now has a public face, one that she doesn't want her father to find out about. Which mean the shadowy figure who has committed corporate espionage, infiltration, and terrorism has a recognizable face (or helmet at least).

Not only that the Justice League might hunt me down. They wouldn't want some look alike to damage the reputation of a founding member. No that would interfere with their recruitment of child soldiers, creation of military bases, hoarding of weapons of mass destruction, and worse.

"What happened?" Talia demanded. "You #^%&ed up, explain."

"Fear toxin," I reply. "I was doused with some of it."

"Are you still experiencing hallucinations?" Unless this alcohol I'm dringing is that effective.

"No they-"

"Then get back to work! Cry about your feelings later." Yeah I should have expected that from the woman who has seen half her board leave the company.

"I killed Scarecrow what else do you want me to do?" I should have been suspicious when she offered to pay me so much money. She never gets desperate and overpays, this was just a more expensive mission because it was more dangerous.'

"I didn't send you there for Scarecrow, I sent you there to dismantle HIVE in France."

"That's worth a hundred million dollars? I'm willing to put a criminal organization's subsidiary at $50 million worth of work and another $10 million for Scarecrow, but what's that last $40 million for? Or are you just so scared that Damian Darkh will be able to take over-"

"You'll figure that out on your own."

"Or you can tell me now before Damian Darkh wins the League of Shadows Civil War." Supposedly she's been worried that her inheritance, the League of Shadows itself, would be taken from her since Damian Darkh returned after the Cold War. Or at least that's what Essence told me.

"I think it's in my best interest not to," she spits into the phone, angry that I suggested she would lose to him.

"Why? Who else is in France?" Clearly she expects me to meet someone in this country that I would otherwise try to avoid. Its probably not the Justice League or Team so... Oceanmaster? David Cain? De-

"Ms. Head," I can hear one of Talia's assistants over the coms. "Our European head-"

"Oh god what did he say," Talia cries as she prepares for that idiot to make her life miserable again- Oh $#^! I work for her PR firm. #^%&!

"He implied that the Markovian Queen got-"

"You know what," she intervenes. "I'd rather not sleep on this. Can you tell me in the morning?"

"Ye-Yes Ms. Head."

"Night."

 **"BEEP"** She turns off the coms, clearly wanting to sleep before something else went wrong today. Can't really blame her after hearing that guys mouth went off again. People say she should have fired him last time, but he might be the only person who can set up and electric vehicle charging system across Europe, meaning a lot of money would be lost without him.

 **"BEEP"** Oracle?

"What did you find?" I ask her.

"I was calling to check if you were okay," Oracle joked.

"I'm fine!" I strike back.

"Then why did you take a year of stealthy operations and shoot it in the head all over the internet-"

"I KNOW!" I snap back at her. I know better than anyone else I failed. Especially because it happened again. I spent so long trapped in a nightmare like that. I thought I would be prepared if I ever came into something like this again. What if- What if I go up against her again and just get trapped again? Or Hatter? Or Grodd? Or…

What if I'm still-

I have my armor retract around my left wrist into my glove. Using my All-Blade I cut the back of my wrist. The pain feels real, but insignificant. Is it insignificant because I have a high pain tolerance? Because it's a weak cut? Or because this isn't real?

It felt so real with Scarecrow. It felt so real all that time I was trapped in my own mind. Is it really that surprising that this feels-

"Are-" Oracle weakly attempts to say. She must have just watched me on the camera in my helmet.

"Just…" she deserves an answer. "I was intoxicated." That's predictable followed by confused silence.

"You were drunk?" Oracle asked, bewildered by my suggestion. She's probably looking at my camera's external helmet

"Poisoned with hallucinogenic. My perception of reality led me to do things I probably would have done."

"Because you were sorry?" she asked sarcastically.

"Of course not! I would have shot that guy sober." I can feel her unease through the call. "I just would have done it in a way that prevents Youtube from commenting on it"

"Well… your decisions have attracted attention."

She then sends a stream from the hotel lobby. In it Nightwing, Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy (thankfully the other people should obstruct his super hearing), Kid Flash, and… I think that's Artemis? A bit of a height difference, not in a Tigress uniform, and she's wearing a costume that's similar to her Artemis one but this won't give her hypothermia. So probably not Tigress.

"Who's the new girl?" I ask Oracle.

"Still collecting information, but she debuted as a superhero a month ago. The internet is arguing between whether her name is Lady Arrowette or just Arrowette."

"Are you using reddit?" I ask disappointed that all the advanced computers I bought her are being used to do literally the second easiest thing on the internet.

A long silence confirms my suspicions.

"[SIGH] Do you have any idea what they are saying?" I ask. Miss Martian isn't there so they have to be talking out loud… If she's not there then maybe I could tell- No they would believe her over me. I have no doubt that deep down they are told to think like that.

"They are trying to find the source of those chemical weapons." They aren't distracted by the clown-show I put on, not bad. Given that Dick left the team after he mismanaged the Reach Crisis, Tim must be in charge of this squad. "Do you want to listen in?"

"That's useful, but later. Right now I'm thinking about how to get the JL jr. to complete the contract for me."

"Us," she claims. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Do you know the source of the chemicals?"

"Yes but-"

"Send me the location, I've got an idea. Oh and change to text-only mode so Superboy can't hear you."

* * *

An Hour Later

 **FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE**

 _Arrowette POV_

"Why do we think this is the place again?" I ask because apparently this warehouse in the middle of a French town of 400 between two mountains and thirty minutes away from the nearest highway was helping prepare chemical weapons. I know Robin's the World's Greatest Detective and all, but color me skeptical (that's a phrase right?) about that.

"Because Bialya intelligence mentioned it," Superboy responded.

"And we trust the Bialyan's because…" Wonder Girl asked.

"We don't," Robin replied. "That's why we're here."

"What did they say?" Kid Flash asked.

"They mentioned redirecting the cargo here after the hotel incident," Knightwing chimed in.

"The thing with Scarecrow," I add.

"Unless you can think of any other hotel incident recently."

"But why would they set up a base in this small-town factory of all places?"

"Cheap real estate?" Kid Flash suggested.

"I say we go in quietly," Robin suggests. "Knightwing and I should sneak in and collect intelligence before we shut it down."

"Can I tag along?" Green Arrow told me that the stealth training I got is like what the bat-boys-and-girls got.

"I'm not-" Robin try's to suggest.

"Do you have stealth training from GA?" Knightwing asked.

"Yeah, infiltrated a League of Shadows base in the south pacific," I bragged. "Didn't get caught by the Sensei or David Cain."

"Wooooow. She's coming with us." YES! I impressed R1. I form a fist and pull my arm down in victory.

"You're not in charge here," Robin snapped back, preparing to tell me to stay put. The judging eyes of his teammates gave him second thoughts, however. "[SIGH] Come on, but stay with me." He agrees reluctantly. Did I do something to anger him?

Robin, Knightwing, and I use a grapple to enter the warehouse from a side window on the top floor. I slip in first and jump down to a terrace. Knightwing and Robin follow me in. Knightwing starts playing charades to give orders. He points to both of us and then pointed right then pointed to himself and pointed left. They begin to move without me and I have to run to catch up with Robin. The two of us stop as we see two guards armed like a swat soldier patrol the perimeter.

"A bit excessively armed for a small-town guard," I point to Robin.

"Let's figure out what he's protecting," Robin responds stoically. Honestly, he's been a bit of a hard-#$$ this entire time. He acts more like a Dark Knight than a Boy Wonder.

Robin taps my shoulder to get my attention. He points to a table at the floor below us. Five people, one 6'6", one a teenage girl, the other three each have crown.

"Ten you weren't hurt bugger," one of the crowned men said in an Australian accent.

"Of course he wasn't hurt Jack, impenetrability is his thing," the other of the crowned men replied in another Australian accent. "How long till he gets here?"

"He told me he'd be here ten minutes ago my King," a woman who caresses the hand of the 'King' while speaking with a South African accent.

"How dare that old bugger make my Queen and I wait?!" King complained. "Oh and of course you three as well."

Robin intensely studies the family of five, having pulled up a holo-computer to try and run some program on them. So much so that he doesn't see the guard about to spot us walking by. Luckily, just as I was about to alert him, Batman grabbed the guard, restraining his mouth to prevent screaming-

WAIT BATMAN!

Oh never mind, it's probably Knightwing… Wait a second. Knightwing's costume doesn't have pointy ears. And the armor looks thicker… Knightwing (maybe?) used one of his electric sticks to point behind me. I turn around to see another guard who is looking in our direction-

"[bam]" The guard falls to the ground, its thump as quiet as a mouse, yet much larger than the silencer it came from.

"What was that?!" Robin asked, looking around to find the origin of the shot. When I look back and see the guard from earlier is knocked out on the terrace and Knightwing disappeared.

"Robin to team, unknown element has taken out two adversarial guards," he quietly informed them over the radio.

"Robin why did that guard just drop?" Knightwing asked us over the radio.

"Weren't you looking at the guard?" I ask over the radio.

"What are you talking about? I'm on the other side of the building."

"Arrowette did you see something?" Robin asked me.

"Yeah I thought I saw Batman or Nightwing hold down that guard," I tell him pointing to the unconscious guard behind him.

"Batman or fake-Batman?" he asked. UGHH. How could I forget about that guy?

"Probably… Probably fake-Batman." I admit to Robin.

"So our guy is in there AND he knows you are there. Lets take the place by force," Wonder Girl enthusiastically suggested. I prep my bow with an explosive arrow and aim it at the table the five kings, queens, and knights sit at.

"Delay that order," Robin demanded as he held his hand in front of my bow. I relax a little. Just as I'm about to ask why, the why walks closer to the table.

"About time ya showed up mate," King complained.

"Sorry I'm the one who had to clean up your mess. Mate," THE SLADE WILSON scolded the King. Robin and I look each other in the eyes (mask?) before taking an uncomfortable gulp.

"What mess?!" the King did not like having his skills question.

"The dead body of our chief scientist, the leftover evidence from the lab producing the chemical, and the two children watching us from up there." Deathstroke proceeded to stare us down despite our four eyes against one advantage.

"Robin?" I ask for guidance as Deathstroke intimidated us.

"RUN," he warned me grabbing my shoulder and pulling me past where I saw the fake-Batman. As we run over the body of the man he had been holding, I step in a pile of blood from a knife wound. It was too large for someone to have no screamed, even while unconscious, meaning the guard was killed.

As we ran we could hear an impending object come towards us. Its force and size deadly and on target from the sound alone. The explosion from the object separates Robin and I, destroying the terrace we stood on. To make matters worse we were on opposite side of the broken terrace. I pull out a grapple arrow to try and swing across but have to take cover as bolts of energy and fireballs are chucked into the abyss between the two of us.

"Incoming!" Superboy warns us over the radio. Then he broke the ceiling above us, allowing him to land between the Jack and King who were firing the energy bolts and fireballs respectively. The shockwave of the landing was enough to send both of them fifteen or so feet away from where they previously stood. The Jack gets up easier than the King, but Kid Flash zooms in to knock him back onto his feet.

"Hi nice to meet you it's been crash," Kid Flash quickly tells Jack before grabbing some rope then running around him in circles to quickly wrap him.

"[WHOOSH]" A fireball that was about to Kid Flash from behind is deflected by Wonder Girl. I pull out a taser arrow and aim at the King throwing the fireballs. In an easy shot I'm able make the king bend the knee.

"Thanks!" Wonder Girl signals me enthusiastically. First bad guy I brought down as part of the team and I got to commit regicide (does that work if it's non-lethal).

"LOOK OUT!" Robin yells towards me. I just jump in a random direction and happen to avoid the metallic chain that was coming at where I was.

"You're going to pay for touching my man #!%^&," the Queen called me.

I start to feel the walkway I'm on collapse, so I jump off of it, using a grapple arrow to swing behind some containers. As I look back the walkway it transformed into a metal eastern-dragon whose detain I would comment on more if it wasn't trying to eat me. I run and hide in a container to avoid the dragon, watching it fly by, not coming out until it had stopped moving.

I step out cautiously, bow prepared. As I step around the corner, I watch Knightwing dance around Ten, who swung randomly to hit him. I fire a high-density polyurethane foam (or red goo that traps people) arrow to hold him in place. Knightwing sees me through the reflection of glass and walks backwards toward me.

"Think that will hold him?" Ten then flexes out of the material and charges at us. "That should answer my question." The two of us dodge Ten by jumping towards him and allowing to charge past us. Knightwing flips over him while I roll past his left side. I look behind myself and watch Superboy overwhelmed with Deathstroke and Jack.

"Superboy wanna switch dance partners," I suggest over the radio. He looks over at us while avoiding Deathstroke and Jack.

"Good idea!" he yells back. The three of us all run towards each other, with Superboy going past us to confront Ten, Knightwing taking on Deathstroke, and the Jack and I don't even need to get closer to confront one another as we start firing shots at one another from where we stood. My first arrow is destroyed with an energy bolt but my second one lands behind him. Unfortunately for me he sees that it's explosive and jumps out of the way.

"[BOOM]" Just as I'm about to fire another arrow, I start to feel dizzy and fall on my knees. Everything merges together and looks like an oil painting. I look over and see that Knightwing and Superboy are in the same predicament I am.

"Ace good work," I overhear Deathstroke compliment. Given that the other four people at that table are Ten, Jack, Queen, and King, the little girl must be Ace. The little girl is standing behind the assassin as he walks towards Knightwing. Deathstroke puts his foot on Knightwing's back and aimed one of his pistols at his head. "This for the Santa Prisca meeting-"

"[BANG]" A bullet flies out of nowhere, catching Deathstroke by surprise as well, hitting Ace. As Ace fell over the rest of us stood up, trying to gain our balance, except Knightwing who went straight to fighting Deathstoke.

"No," I moan as I stare at the body of Ace lying on the floor. As I stare at her somebody shoves me from behind, sending me across the floor. I get up to see that my attacker was Robin who was trying to hold off Jack with his birdarangs.

"Focus!" he told me slow and clearly. As he kept tossing birdarangs at Jack I grabbed my own arrows.

"Right," I tell him. The two of us join together to create an onslaught of projectiles. Jack uses his energy powers to shoot them all down, but we push him back against the wall.

"[CLUNCK] [CLUNCK]" A metallic can rolls by.

"[BOOOM]" A smoke grenade goes off encompassing the two of us.

"[Cough] [Cough]" I see a shadow run on the outside of the smoke.

Don't think you can get away from me! It takes me two seconds to shoot an explosive arrow at the shaded figure and send him on his feet. As I walk out of the shadows I point another arrow at my target, before preparing commands.

"FREEeezzeeee… Superboy." OhmygodIhitSuperboy. EHHHHHHH-

"Arrowette tracer arrow," Robin quietly commanded of me. Why does he want me to- Robin subtly points to an escaping Deathstroke and royal family, quickly being pursued by Knightwing and Wonder Girl.

"Right-"

"[BOOOM]"

Just as I'm about to fire the arrow the ceiling they are on top of collapses.

"[THUMP]" Large parts of the ceiling lie where the assassins, the royal family, Wonder Girl, and the former Boy Wonder were.

"CASSIE!" Robin yelled as we rushed over to the rubble. Once the three of us got there we each began to panic.

"Where's Kid Flash?" Superboy frantically asked.

"Here," A limping Kid Flash, grabbing the back of his head walked towards us. "Kind of felling the mode-"

"KF can you vibrate through these rocks!" A panicked Robin yelled at his teammate while trying to dig through the rubble.

"Feeling the mode." KF responded with contempt. What mode is he talking about? "Get Knightwing or Wonder Girl to help you."

"They're trapped under this rubble!" he yelled back.

"Robin we might not be able to dig them out," Superboy said ominously.

"Why?!" Robin asked, fearful for the worst.

"I think there's an underground passage."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"My infrared vision can tell that there is some sort of tunnel."

"So they're buried really deep," I suggest to the comfort of nobody.

"I'm saying that there is an alternate entrance to the bottom." Superboy says to the comfort of everyone.

"How do we get there?" Robin asks.

"It's out of my range," Superboy admits.

"So how do we find them."

"Aren't you supposed to be the detective?" Kid Flash asks. Robin silently ponders his options.

"Kid Flash circle the city, if you find anything on Deathstroke or the fake-Batman radio me but do not engage. If you find Cassie or Knightwing radio me for more instructions."

"Got-" Kid Flash runs off before he can finish his statement.

"The three of us should search this place in the meantime," Robin instructs.

"Shouldn't we focus on finding our teammates?" I ask back. Robin looks back at me as though I broke some unwritten taboo.

"If Knightwing and Cassie are in the area, Impulse will find them first. But all of us came here to do a mission. And the mission comes first."

"Okay junior Batman," Superboy adds. "You can show a little bit of empathy."

"[SIGH] Lets just get to work."

"What do you want us to look for?" I ask.

"If I knew we wouldn't be searching."

We scuttle through the nearby boxes in the warehouse, nothing of interest. The normal items suggest that this place was just a meeting point, not a research facility like the hotel. A brief sweep of the table they were sitting at and all I could find was a pair of night vision goggles.

"Well time to give up," I declare.

"We haven't even combed an eight of this place-" Robin retorts.

"And we have a much greater stash of information back at the hotel Scarecrow was found in," Superboy tells him. "Listen I know you think you have to be a lot more responsible because you are now a regular team leader, but you don't have to go full Batman." Robin is taken aback by the criticism, growing his eyes and focusing on Superboy.

"I..." Robin starts to respond but gives up. "You are..." Robin shifts his focus to me. "Where did you get that?"

"Huh," I'm caught off guard by the sudden importance. "These night vision goggles? They seemed to be the only thing out of the ordinary here." He grabs them out of my hand and brings them close to his eyes.

"Hmmm seems to be League of Shadows equipment."

"So Deathstroke's back with the Light?" Superboy asks.

"The Light?" I ask.

"Supervillain society. I'm temped to say yes, but everything Batman and I could find about him says that he hasn't been seen by the Shadows since the incident on Santa Prisca."

"What happened on Santa Prisca?"

"Long story," Superboy replied. "So what happened to him?"

"Batman didn't want me to investigate further," Robin told ominously. "But... Rumors have been swirling in the underworld that Deathstroke was trying to contact his family."

Superboy and Robin both tensed up. Was he talking about Ravager? The infamous terrorist wanted in 40 countries.

"After what happened last time," Superboy adds. "Its hard to blame him for being worried about you."

The two of them are silent. Did something happen with Ravager?

"Huh," Robin finally breaks. "The design for the googles is different."

"How so?" I ask

"The League of Shadows normally have two different lenses, one with a normal lens and one that alternates between three others. This one just has four lens option on each eye."

"Maybe its a new design?" Superboy suggests.

"600 year-old men aren't exactly known for trying new things. There are records back to World War Two with the other design, maybe even World War One."

"I mean they have to upgrade sometime," I add.

"Its not just the lens, the shape, and materials are different; but the underlying design is the same. Its sort of like a bird that evolved into two different species."

"So you're saying that this technology belongs to some sister agency of the League of Shadows?"

"Doubtful. Ra's keeps a strong grasp on his organization and takes pride in his unparalleled organization. If there were a sister agency I'm sure he would have crushed it long ago."

"What if he just ignored it?"

"Doubtful. Ra's doesn't underestimate his adversaries. And if threat did exist that was capable of challenging the League, I'm sure either of the Leagues would know about it."

* * *

 **Yes, I finally am able to upload this. I think the next chapter will either be the history of HIVE or I'll do the second part of Felicity's backstory.**


End file.
